Juno News - February 01, 2022


The convoy was heard loud and clear


Episode Stats

Length

43 minutes

Words per Minute

183.45654

Word Count

7,974

Sentence Count

430

Misogynist Sentences

7

Hate Speech Sentences

7


Summary

Coming up, we'll have a full report on the Freedom Convoy, plus a conversation with the Convoy's organizers. The Andrew Lawton Show starts right now on the True North Network, hosted by Andrew in London, England.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Welcome to Canada's Most Irreverent Talk Show.
00:00:06.680 This is the Andrew Lawton Show, brought to you by True North.
00:00:12.800 Coming up, I've just returned from the Freedom Convoy 2022 in Ottawa.
00:00:17.580 We'll have a full report, plus a conversation with the spokesperson for the Convoy's organizers.
00:00:24.920 The Andrew Lawton Show starts right now.
00:00:31.000 Hello and welcome to the Andrew Lawton Show here on True North.
00:00:35.460 It is Tuesday, February 1st, 2022, and the Convoy is still going strong in our nation's capital of Ottawa.
00:00:44.780 I am, as you can probably tell by looking, I am back in London now, back in my home studio after spending a few days up in Ottawa,
00:00:53.040 talking to the people involved in the creation of the Convoy.
00:00:56.760 We'll have one of them on the show later on.
00:00:59.140 But more importantly, talking to the people that were there, many of them traveling from all across the country,
00:01:04.760 as far away as British Columbia, as Yellowknife, as South Ottawa,
00:01:10.520 all there because they believed there was something in that convoy that they resonated with, the message of freedom.
00:01:18.520 This show is going to be a bit different than usual programs.
00:01:21.640 I don't really have a structure.
00:01:23.160 I was trying before the show to think of, okay, well, what do I want to say?
00:01:26.620 What do I want to do?
00:01:27.540 And I've got a couple of clips I'm going to throw to of things that happened.
00:01:31.540 And I'm going to talk about the bigger picture, though.
00:01:33.900 And I'm going to just intersperse that with little commentaries and observations of things that I experienced and things I felt.
00:01:41.740 And more importantly, things that are just so fundamentally wrong about the mainstream media's characterization and the mainstream media's depiction of this.
00:01:51.520 This was a peaceful protest.
00:01:54.620 It was a peaceful demonstration.
00:01:56.540 It was a peaceful convoy.
00:01:57.780 This was an example of people peacefully gathering in their nation's capital to say we've had enough.
00:02:03.920 And much as we've talked about the genesis of the convoy, which was obviously resisting the vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, it grew to be so much more than that.
00:02:15.360 And we were talking about this a little bit last week as the convoy was heading to Ottawa, the importance of understanding exactly what it is people were fighting for.
00:02:23.740 And it really has become, and the organizer, Benjamin Dichter, was speaking at a press conference, and he said that it was really about ending all COVID restrictions, federal and provincial, and returning to life circa 2019.
00:02:38.060 And there's something very pure in that desire.
00:02:41.040 And in a lot of ways, the protests, the rallies, became a signal to a lot of people of a tide that is very much turning.
00:02:48.680 And I want to point out some stats on this, because last week there was that poll, or it was actually earlier this week, or whatever it was, that said one in five people would never be comfortable living without masks or vaccine mandates.
00:03:02.640 One in five.
00:03:04.440 Now, that may be a minority, but that's a pretty scary minority.
00:03:07.800 If 20% of the population was saying that, you know what, I always want to have a mask mandate in place, I always want a vaccine mandate.
00:03:14.200 20% of people that were very firmly believing that this life that we're living now should be the new normal.
00:03:21.380 But then we yesterday had a poll that showed a bit of movement in this.
00:03:24.620 This is a poll taken January 27th and 28th, which means it was taken last week, but while the convoy was gradually becoming the big story of the country.
00:03:34.520 And this poll found that 54% of people in this country believe that COVID-19 restrictions should end.
00:03:43.400 This was an Angus Reid poll, reputable polling firm.
00:03:46.400 54% said it's time to end restrictions and, quote, let people self-isolate if they are at risk.
00:03:53.920 So moving towards a personal responsibility approach.
00:03:57.360 This is not pandemic denial.
00:03:59.100 This is not saying COVID doesn't exist.
00:04:00.900 It's not saying that we are going to just dig our heads in the sand and pretend that all of these things that do happen and affect certain people are...
00:04:08.620 No, it's not about that.
00:04:09.420 It's about saying that we should let individual people make their own choices.
00:04:14.500 And that's what this is about.
00:04:15.940 It's not about vaccination.
00:04:17.900 It is about vaccine mandates and within that lockdowns.
00:04:21.280 And it was so rich to hear all the politicians who have been pushing back against this convoy say,
00:04:25.740 Oh, well, the convoy is being disrespectful to local businesses in Ottawa because they aren't able to open.
00:04:33.620 Are you freaking kidding me?
00:04:36.340 The governments that have been shutting down businesses for much of the last two years are concerned about the effect on business of a group of people that are ready to patronize businesses.
00:04:47.700 Any place that was open, this was fascinating in Ottawa, a lot of places did shut down, but anyone that was open was busy from morning to night the entire day.
00:04:57.420 So the convoy is actually a blessing to businesses.
00:05:01.120 I was staying at a hotel a couple of blocks from Parliament Hill.
00:05:04.260 It was full for the first time in two years.
00:05:07.760 And that was every hotel.
00:05:08.920 Every hotel was just filled right up, which is not something that downtown Ottawa has had in the last two years.
00:05:14.720 People were skating on the canal, people were walking the streets, people were having a grand old time.
00:05:21.760 And again, I'm not saying there hasn't been disruption.
00:05:24.540 And obviously that's the point of the blockade.
00:05:26.660 They're trying to disrupt.
00:05:27.800 They've tried to and have succeeded in shutting down Wellington Street.
00:05:32.160 But the point that I'm making is that this is not something that we can believe anyone is genuinely concerned about.
00:05:39.500 They're just throwing up all of these situations where they want to pretend they're concerned.
00:05:43.160 They want to pretend that, oh, we're just out for the poor business owners on Elgin Street or whatever the case may be.
00:05:48.520 No, what they are is just trying to come up with ways that they can wedge Canadians against the convoy when Canadians are, by and large, supporting the convoy.
00:05:59.020 I do not consider myself a celebrity by any stretch.
00:06:02.860 I do not.
00:06:03.520 I am not a celebrity.
00:06:04.400 I just have this job where I get to talk about things that I care about and I get to hear from people and talk to great people across this country about the things that they care about.
00:06:13.200 The number of people that have reached out to me who I, in some cases, I may be met 10 years ago for something that are saying, oh my goodness, I just saw your show.
00:06:24.320 I'm just learning of all this stuff.
00:06:25.620 I just saw this thing.
00:06:26.480 It's great.
00:06:27.220 People that are following me on Instagram where I just post like food pictures and pre-2020 travel pictures that are reaching out saying, yeah, this is great.
00:06:35.620 I just saw these tweets of yours.
00:06:37.060 I just saw this show segment.
00:06:38.420 I just saw this interview you did.
00:06:40.120 And people are doing this all because of the convoy.
00:06:43.320 The convoy is breaking into circles that are closed off traditionally to conservative politics and I'd say to politics in general.
00:06:53.800 And people are waking up and saying, you know what?
00:06:56.620 I'm actually wanting to be engaged.
00:07:00.220 Originally, there were questions and I still haven't gotten a definitive count from anyone.
00:07:04.340 The organizers of the convoy didn't want to give a count.
00:07:06.700 The police haven't given a count.
00:07:07.960 So I don't know how many people were there on the weekend.
00:07:09.860 But originally, what I thought was going to happen was you'd have an influx of people on the Saturday.
00:07:16.400 A lot of them would be there on the Sunday and then it would kind of dissipate.
00:07:19.480 But it went the other way.
00:07:20.740 People kept coming because when people saw the footage of Saturday, they were thinking, oh, my goodness, I want to be there.
00:07:28.520 And I had messages from people that were like all day Sunday.
00:07:31.600 I was like being the Ottawa tourism liaison because people were emailing me saying, yeah, is it still going on?
00:07:36.620 Can I still come?
00:07:37.360 Can I still get in?
00:07:38.140 How do I get there?
00:07:38.860 What's the best way?
00:07:39.860 And people were seeing the coverage and being like, I want to be there.
00:07:43.320 I want to be a part of this.
00:07:45.820 And when I walked around, it was minus 20, I think, at a lot of points.
00:07:51.020 And I like my wife, lovely, caring woman that she is, made sure I was like adequately equipped for it because knowing me, I just would have like gone out with wearing this or something.
00:07:58.920 But she, you know, we made sure I had like warm clothing.
00:08:02.320 And I'm glad because we were out for long periods of time.
00:08:05.320 My hand was getting frostbitten from the microphone in any interview you see of mine where I wasn't wearing gloves.
00:08:10.900 But unfortunately, you can't turn the mic on or off without gloves.
00:08:13.760 So I know, first world problems.
00:08:15.360 The whole, it's the price of freedom.
00:08:17.300 The whole point is, it was freezing and people were still out there.
00:08:21.660 People were tailgating on the backs of their trucks.
00:08:24.560 People were playing music.
00:08:26.120 I didn't always agree with the choice of music.
00:08:29.940 I was in a hotel that was right on Albert Street where a lot of the trucks were going around.
00:08:35.400 And at one point, I was trying to get to sleep and they had played Mambo No. 5 three times in the course of an hour.
00:08:41.920 Again, not always my choice of soundtrack, but it was a big old party.
00:08:46.180 Everyone was having a great time and they are continuing to.
00:08:50.520 What's going to happen in the future, I don't know.
00:08:53.040 There have been a lot of people that have been talking about, especially Ottawa City Councilors,
00:08:57.040 wanting to get in there and start forcibly removing it.
00:08:59.620 But the question is, how do you intend to do it?
00:09:02.540 I know it's possible to tow semis.
00:09:04.300 It's possible to tow tractor trailers, but it's not easy.
00:09:07.980 Certainly not when they are parked bumper to bumper and there are hundreds of them.
00:09:13.820 So how are they going to tow them?
00:09:15.440 Where are they going to take them?
00:09:17.540 And what's going to happen if they start to try that?
00:09:20.060 Because I'm convinced that once they start going in there trying to tow things,
00:09:24.140 people are going to be lining the streets to prevent that from happening.
00:09:27.960 I'm not encouraging that.
00:09:29.000 I'm just making, I think, a fair statement.
00:09:31.380 So in the time it would take police to clear that out, people would swarm on Ottawa and
00:09:36.900 prevent them from being able to easily do that.
00:09:39.360 And then you've got a riot on your hands.
00:09:42.700 And this has been peaceful.
00:09:44.620 Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
00:09:46.240 The Canadian press ran this asinine story that I have to share because the headline is so rich.
00:09:52.660 Calling Ottawa protests peaceful downplays non-violent dangers, critics say.
00:09:58.440 Anyway, so I said last week, and I wrote a newsletter about this, that the critics of
00:10:03.060 the convoy want it to be violent because they want to delegitimize it.
00:10:06.460 No greater proof of that than this story.
00:10:08.860 They're saying, well, okay, fine.
00:10:10.060 It wasn't violent, but it's still dangerous.
00:10:11.940 It's still dangerous.
00:10:12.740 So don't call it a peaceful protest.
00:10:14.700 And this is the line that Justin Trudeau has taken.
00:10:17.640 I don't know if you caught his press conference yesterday, but he decided to go on a war path
00:10:21.740 about this and take aim at everyone, defining them based on a couple of isolated examples.
00:10:28.600 Here's what he said.
00:10:30.160 As my friend Erwin Kotler said on Saturday, freedom of expression, assembly, and association
00:10:37.120 are cornerstones of democracy.
00:10:40.580 But Nazi symbolism, racist imagery, and desecration of war memorials are not.
00:10:47.400 It is an insult to memory and truth.
00:10:52.820 Hate can never be the answer.
00:10:57.440 Over the past few days, Canadians were shocked and, frankly, disgusted by the behavior displayed
00:11:04.940 by some people protesting in our nation's capital.
00:11:08.420 I want to be very clear.
00:11:09.980 We are not intimidated by those who hurl insults and abuse at small business workers and steal
00:11:19.600 food from the homeless.
00:11:22.160 We won't give in to those who fly racist flags.
00:11:27.460 We won't cave to those who engage in vandalism or dishonor the memory of our veterans.
00:11:34.460 But in that entire press conference, not a single example of, I understand their anger, or I
00:11:42.160 sympathize, or, you know, I get their point, but I disagree.
00:11:45.560 None of that.
00:11:46.540 It was they're racist, they're hateful, they're anti-science, they're big, or whatever the
00:11:50.680 case is.
00:11:51.080 He was throwing every name at them.
00:11:52.940 Because that's the way that Justin Trudeau views ordinary, in many cases, working class
00:11:58.040 people who are rising up to say, we believe in freedom.
00:12:01.000 You don't belong in the Canadian society that Justin Trudeau wants.
00:12:08.160 And legitimately, I've had a couple of people in law enforcement that I've spoken to in the
00:12:12.100 last 12 hours, the last maybe 18 hours, who have said that they believe the risk of violence
00:12:19.260 only came when Justin Trudeau had that statement, had that press conference.
00:12:24.060 They believe that raised the temperature that the liberals have been pretending they want
00:12:28.380 to take down, to so-called de-escalate.
00:12:31.940 So he's ratcheted up his rhetoric.
00:12:34.480 He's decided to take aim at all of them and say that every single one of these people here,
00:12:38.240 oh yeah, they're just swastika waving, knuckle dragging, Confederate flag waving racist.
00:12:44.520 So let's talk about those incidents.
00:12:46.240 Because I, as you may have seen, Candace Malcolm launched an initiative at True North, where she
00:12:50.180 ponied up $1,000 to anyone who could help identify that single guy waving a Nazi flag.
00:12:57.200 Other people decided to match that and add in money of their own.
00:13:00.780 And now I think it's up to $6,500.
00:13:03.380 I don't know if anyone's claimed it, but, or has tried to claim it.
00:13:06.820 But as far as I know, we have no more information than we did when we first saw that picture.
00:13:11.960 Candace sent me a message on the weekend and said,
00:13:14.100 Andrew, I want you to, you know, interview anyone that has any of these signs or flags that
00:13:18.480 are really concerning.
00:13:19.600 And I went back to her and I said, I'd love to, but I can't find any of them.
00:13:23.400 I can't find any of them.
00:13:25.400 I'm walking around with a cameraman and a French colleague of ours who has just started
00:13:30.320 with True North and is doing some tremendous work.
00:13:32.520 And I, we were walking around for hours a day, every day, and didn't see any of this stuff.
00:13:37.500 We saw lots of signs that you might've thought, okay, I wouldn't say that.
00:13:41.500 But we didn't see this Nazi symbolism that you'd think by paying attention to certain
00:13:47.340 mainstream media coverage was the norm.
00:13:49.460 Didn't see it.
00:13:50.040 Didn't see any Confederate flags.
00:13:52.580 I would have happily interviewed these people and found out what they were all about.
00:13:56.020 Are they there because they are genuine believers in those ideologies?
00:13:59.800 Or are they there because they're trying to undermine?
00:14:02.000 Either is possible.
00:14:03.440 I'm not discounting it.
00:14:04.520 I'm not saying that in a grassroots movement of thousands of people, a Nazi didn't show up.
00:14:11.040 I'm also not saying that in a grassroots movements of thousands of people, someone who
00:14:15.140 wanted to undermine that movement by pretending to be a Nazi showed up.
00:14:20.200 That is entirely possible.
00:14:22.280 Either one of those could have happened.
00:14:25.080 But here's the thing.
00:14:26.320 Those are not at all.
00:14:28.320 They're not even close to representing the majority or even a sizable contingent in a minority.
00:14:34.320 They are literally outliers.
00:14:36.940 Literally outliers.
00:14:37.980 I have seen one Confederate flag and if you watch the video, everyone else around that
00:14:42.220 guy wanted nothing to do with it and ended up forcing him out.
00:14:45.180 And if you look at the Nazi flag, he was far removed from the crowd because he would not
00:14:50.520 have been welcomed in that crowd.
00:14:53.460 These are very important realities.
00:14:56.420 When reports have come out about cars parking on the war memorial, they were swiftly removed
00:15:01.020 and then volunteers from the convoy decided to stand guard to protect it.
00:15:06.100 When the Terry Fox statue was adorned with removable objects, they were removed eventually after
00:15:12.640 media coverage and then everyone started tidying up.
00:15:15.720 You can see it on video.
00:15:16.660 They started tidying up the Terry Fox statue.
00:15:19.800 The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as well, protected by people so that things that did happen and
00:15:26.100 were caught on video didn't happen again.
00:15:28.440 The question is what you do about these things and everyone on Instagram and Twitter that's
00:15:35.800 trying to criticize the rally and criticize the convoy is saying, well, all of these people
00:15:40.620 should be condemned.
00:15:42.260 They have been.
00:15:43.520 They've been condemned swiftly and vigorously before Justin Trudeau did.
00:15:48.280 I mean, the Nazi flag, the Confederate flag, all of that nonsense, that was criticized before
00:15:53.000 Justin Trudeau came out and he knew that, but he didn't care because he's decided to
00:15:58.400 vilify.
00:16:00.540 So what we have happening in Ottawa right now is something quite spectacular.
00:16:05.360 And more importantly, it is something that is becoming more mainstream.
00:16:10.020 You'll have noted I'm not talking about Aaron O'Toole's leadership right now.
00:16:14.320 There's a significant reason for that because first off, it's a prerecorded show and with stuff
00:16:19.720 like that, anytime you say something, it's going to change after you're done recording.
00:16:23.240 But also I'm trying to not make this about Aaron O'Toole and about the leadership.
00:16:26.800 I want to make this about the groundswell of support we've seen.
00:16:30.240 There were some politicians that were very strong leaders on this.
00:16:33.340 We had a number of conservative MPPs, the PPC leader, Maxine Bernier.
00:16:38.040 We had Ontario provincial politicians like Derek Sloan and Jim Carahalios and Randy Hillier
00:16:44.200 that were there.
00:16:45.700 So there were politicians represented.
00:16:47.900 But it was interesting to see the mainstreaming over the course of the week of the view that
00:16:54.700 the convoy was putting forth.
00:16:56.440 One interview I did that has gotten a lot of traction, I'm going to play it for you now
00:17:00.220 if you haven't seen it, is an interview with Leslie Lewis.
00:17:03.060 Now, I was recording what's called a stand-up, which is just standing up in front of the camera
00:17:07.600 and talking about what's happening.
00:17:09.060 And I saw her walking by and I like quickly just like darted after her.
00:17:12.180 We didn't schedule this or anything, but she ended up making a lot of comments in just
00:17:16.740 a few minutes that truly resonated with people, again, outside of conventional political circles.
00:17:22.160 Take a look.
00:17:23.140 So what brings you out to Ottawa?
00:17:24.900 I know you work here, but specifically on this day, why are you on Parliament Hill?
00:17:29.160 Why wouldn't I be?
00:17:30.160 This is democracy.
00:17:31.320 This is what democracy is all about.
00:17:32.980 People believe that the government has overstepped with mandates and they're here to exercise
00:17:39.700 their democratic right.
00:17:41.440 We give, people give the government the power to act in accordance with their values.
00:17:48.080 The government does not have any independent power.
00:17:51.960 It is us that confer the power on the government.
00:17:55.420 And where they overstep, the people have a right to voice their opinions.
00:17:59.240 What we've seen in the last year with demonization of people, turning people against each other,
00:18:06.120 the hatred that has been spewed from the highest levels is completely unacceptable.
00:18:11.720 And the people have had enough.
00:18:13.400 And so they're here to voice their opinions.
00:18:15.500 And I support any peaceful act of democracy.
00:18:20.220 And all I've seen here is loving, law-abiding Canadians expressing their voice,
00:18:25.960 which they're entitled to do.
00:18:27.100 So why wouldn't I be here, Andrew?
00:18:28.440 Do you feel like the Conservatives have done an adequate job at representing these people
00:18:33.200 throughout the pandemic in the last couple of years,
00:18:35.480 or even in the time that you've been in office the last few months?
00:18:38.280 Well, I've always spoken out.
00:18:39.780 You've seen that I've always spoken out from the very beginning
00:18:42.780 about things that concerned my constituents.
00:18:46.860 I will always be a voice for my constituents, and I will never be silenced.
00:18:51.300 So I believe that MPs have said and acted in accordance with the voices of their constituents, yes.
00:18:59.360 For a lot of people, this is not about whether you're pro or anti-vaccination.
00:19:03.520 It's about a more fundamental message, which is about government overreach.
00:19:07.140 Is that resonating with what you're hearing from your constituents on the ground?
00:19:10.060 Absolutely.
00:19:11.720 There are, whether you're vaccinated or not vaccinated,
00:19:15.200 it's about the mandates and whether or not these mandates are fair,
00:19:19.620 whether they adhere to a public health principle,
00:19:24.400 because that's what we're concerned about.
00:19:26.120 We want everybody to be safe.
00:19:27.780 We want people who are able to be vaccinated to exercise informed consent.
00:19:33.280 That's what we're concerned about.
00:19:35.260 So it's not about whether you're vaccinated or not vaccinated.
00:19:38.200 It's about government overreach.
00:19:40.060 I loved her answer to my first question.
00:19:42.140 Why are you here?
00:19:43.120 Why wouldn't I be?
00:19:44.800 Why wouldn't I be?
00:19:45.780 That's the attitude.
00:19:47.180 Because in politics, it's easy to talk about all the reasons not to do something of,
00:19:51.140 oh, well, you know, there might be someone with a flag.
00:19:53.060 There might be someone here.
00:19:54.220 And Michael Cooper got saddled with this.
00:19:56.560 This is a conservative member of parliament.
00:19:58.680 I also spoke to him as well because I ran into him
00:20:01.120 when he was out handing out coffee to convoy protesters.
00:20:04.980 And unbeknownst to me at the time,
00:20:07.620 just a couple hours earlier,
00:20:09.740 CBC had done an interview with him
00:20:11.960 in which someone behind him had a Canadian flag
00:20:14.860 on which they had drawn a swastika.
00:20:17.560 Now, I have no time for people that deface a Canadian flag.
00:20:21.900 But in this particular case,
00:20:24.000 and I hate when you have to go down the road
00:20:25.600 of like defending a swastika,
00:20:26.920 which I'm not at all doing.
00:20:27.880 But in this case,
00:20:28.860 it was someone who was claiming that Canada is a Nazi country,
00:20:31.960 it looked like.
00:20:32.460 Not someone that was themselves a Nazi.
00:20:35.040 But who knows and who cares?
00:20:36.300 The point is,
00:20:37.140 it was in the background,
00:20:38.480 nothing to do with Michael Cooper.
00:20:39.780 However, CBC conveniently let this shot go on
00:20:42.720 and then a liberal MP took a screenshot
00:20:44.800 and this became the story.
00:20:47.000 Even though, as Garnet Jenis pointed out on Twitter,
00:20:50.480 Justin Trudeau has given speeches
00:20:52.600 in which there has been a Canadian flag
00:20:54.780 with a swastika behind him.
00:20:56.220 And the mainstream media did not nearly summon
00:20:58.400 the same outrage as it did for Michael Cooper
00:21:00.860 being in a very similar space,
00:21:03.420 a very similar incident.
00:21:04.400 So let's stop defining the majority
00:21:07.580 based on not just a minority,
00:21:11.000 but genuine fringe outliers.
00:21:13.340 And it's hilarious.
00:21:14.220 Justin Trudeau talks about the fringe minority
00:21:16.340 with unacceptable views.
00:21:17.660 That's how he defined this group.
00:21:19.600 That's how he characterized this group.
00:21:21.620 The fringe minority with unacceptable views.
00:21:25.480 Well, it was proving that it wasn't all that fringe.
00:21:28.060 And quite frankly,
00:21:28.960 if 54% of Canadians are on board
00:21:31.000 with ending all restrictions,
00:21:32.040 it's not that much of a minority either.
00:21:35.180 The liberal government is the fringe minority here.
00:21:38.280 It's the liberals who are proving
00:21:39.780 that they are out of touch
00:21:40.780 with a growing movement across this country
00:21:43.020 that has literally landed up on their front doorstep
00:21:46.960 and to which they have no interest in engaging.
00:21:51.280 The message that the liberals have given
00:21:53.740 is that you do not belong here.
00:21:56.560 You don't belong here at all.
00:21:58.320 And I'm also going to play a clip
00:22:01.180 of a brief interview I did
00:22:02.460 with PPC leader Maxime Bernier
00:22:04.280 because he touched on something
00:22:05.600 that was very important as well,
00:22:07.340 which was what makes politicians respond?
00:22:09.980 He said politicians have,
00:22:11.320 over the last two years,
00:22:12.360 got us in this mess.
00:22:13.620 What makes him think this might change now?
00:22:16.220 This was our conversation.
00:22:17.540 Maxime, bonjour.
00:22:18.380 How are you?
00:22:18.640 Good, how are you?
00:22:19.380 Do you have a minute for True North?
00:22:20.880 Okay.
00:22:22.060 I mean, let's start.
00:22:23.080 Why do you think there are so many people
00:22:24.500 here on this convoy
00:22:25.600 and here in Ottawa today?
00:22:26.920 Because they're fed up.
00:22:27.900 They want to regain their freedoms.
00:22:30.380 That's why.
00:22:31.420 And, you know, we are not alone.
00:22:33.740 And I believe that more people
00:22:35.460 will come tomorrow,
00:22:36.760 will come Monday.
00:22:38.000 And a lot of people are looking at us
00:22:39.980 at home.
00:22:42.160 And what the message for them is,
00:22:44.200 we are there.
00:22:45.320 You must have the courage
00:22:46.660 of your conviction.
00:22:48.140 The end is coming.
00:22:49.760 And I want to thank the trackers for that.
00:22:52.220 The courageous trackers
00:22:53.440 that decided enough is enough.
00:22:55.420 There's no logic.
00:22:56.820 There's no common sense.
00:22:58.100 There's no science
00:22:59.040 under these draconian measures.
00:23:01.880 And that must end.
00:23:03.280 And they are giving hope.
00:23:05.140 The trackers are giving hope
00:23:06.920 to thousands of Canadians
00:23:08.520 that the end is coming.
00:23:11.520 You've said that the Liberals,
00:23:13.120 the NDP,
00:23:13.760 the Conservatives,
00:23:14.460 they're all the same.
00:23:15.220 So what motivation is there
00:23:17.200 for anyone in Parliament to listen
00:23:18.600 if they've already been bringing us
00:23:20.160 into the things
00:23:20.680 that people are here protesting?
00:23:22.740 Yeah, I believe that, you know,
00:23:24.340 they don't want to be here
00:23:26.180 and meet us
00:23:27.440 and have a discussion with us about that
00:23:29.440 because there's no logic,
00:23:31.020 there's no science
00:23:32.000 beside what they're doing.
00:23:35.240 So my message for them is,
00:23:37.200 you know,
00:23:37.720 listen to your people.
00:23:39.520 Don't play that game
00:23:40.620 of division and segregation.
00:23:42.060 If you're a real leader,
00:23:44.140 you must unite everybody,
00:23:45.680 every Canadian.
00:23:47.060 And we all want that.
00:23:48.320 We want to unite everybody
00:23:49.580 under the freedom umbrella.
00:23:51.180 So I hope that this rally,
00:23:54.420 I don't want to call it a protest.
00:23:56.440 Look, it's a rally.
00:23:57.620 People have fun here.
00:23:59.280 This rally,
00:24:00.540 I hope that will be
00:24:02.820 the most important rally
00:24:08.520 that we had the last two years.
00:24:10.800 As you know,
00:24:12.020 I did a lot of rallies
00:24:13.160 all across the country,
00:24:14.620 but this one is special
00:24:15.920 because we know
00:24:17.040 that we have a momentum right now.
00:24:19.360 And I believe that momentum
00:24:20.660 will be the event
00:24:24.060 that will bring some common sense
00:24:27.200 to our establishment politicians.
00:24:29.500 If not,
00:24:30.380 the PPC will always be there
00:24:32.460 to tell them
00:24:33.660 that they must respect their people.
00:24:36.360 And enough is enough.
00:24:37.880 And enough is enough.
00:24:38.920 I should say
00:24:42.240 that we did a lot of interviews
00:24:44.360 and I don't have time
00:24:44.980 to put them all in this show,
00:24:46.160 but certainly we're going to
00:24:47.320 have more of them coming out
00:24:48.840 on True North's social media pages
00:24:50.700 and on this show
00:24:51.520 in the days to come.
00:24:53.240 We don't know how long
00:24:54.020 this convoy is going to last.
00:24:55.380 The organizers were saying
00:24:56.660 it could be years.
00:24:57.900 At least that's what they're
00:24:59.140 arguing their position for.
00:25:01.080 Hopefully there won't be
00:25:01.960 a need for it for years.
00:25:03.080 That's the bigger question
00:25:04.040 is that this could end right now
00:25:05.720 if the federal government
00:25:06.600 were to come out and say,
00:25:07.480 you know what?
00:25:08.360 We're declaring COVID over
00:25:09.800 insofar as the need to restrict it.
00:25:12.360 We're doing the Denmark thing.
00:25:13.640 We're doing the UK thing.
00:25:14.940 We're doing the Ireland thing.
00:25:16.440 Finland as well now.
00:25:17.600 The government could do that.
00:25:19.560 And all these trucks would go home.
00:25:22.160 But that's not happening.
00:25:23.440 They're doubling down
00:25:24.260 and instead trying to drive a wedge
00:25:25.860 between Canadians
00:25:26.640 and those in the convoy.
00:25:28.300 But it just isn't working.
00:25:30.620 It just isn't working.
00:25:31.940 The support that this movement...
00:25:33.720 I mean, just...
00:25:34.480 If you want to do something fun here,
00:25:36.280 go to Twitter
00:25:36.780 and search for the word honk.
00:25:38.900 The word honk
00:25:39.860 and just see how many people
00:25:40.860 are tweeting the word honk.
00:25:42.200 Because if you can't
00:25:42.800 do it your horn all day,
00:25:43.780 you can tweet the word honk evidently.
00:25:45.640 And that's what people are doing
00:25:46.720 in a lot of cases
00:25:47.980 to show their support for this.
00:25:50.700 So I remain...
00:25:51.700 Last week I said
00:25:52.440 I was getting more and more optimistic.
00:25:54.120 I remain optimistic.
00:25:55.520 I remain hopeful.
00:25:57.580 And it was interesting as well.
00:25:59.400 I want to play...
00:26:00.140 I ran into a lot of Indigenous people.
00:26:02.540 Now, I am not an expert
00:26:03.540 in Indigenous issues at all.
00:26:05.160 But I was fascinated to see
00:26:07.000 the sheer volume
00:26:08.020 of Indigenous representation at this.
00:26:11.040 And by representation,
00:26:12.100 I don't mean organized groups.
00:26:13.620 There were some of them.
00:26:14.360 But just individual Indigenous people,
00:26:16.600 some of which were
00:26:17.380 more notably Indigenous
00:26:18.960 because they were partaking
00:26:20.140 in their customs
00:26:20.800 like using drums and feathers
00:26:22.700 and traditional garb.
00:26:24.320 And there was this one group
00:26:25.580 that I spoke to
00:26:26.380 that I want to share
00:26:27.340 a little bit of the conversation with.
00:26:29.500 Because they said
00:26:30.860 that they were there
00:26:31.920 for freedom.
00:26:34.540 And they have their own reason
00:26:36.100 to want freedom
00:26:37.100 and their own connections
00:26:38.400 to the issue.
00:26:39.420 But it was quite a moving moment.
00:26:41.280 Take a look.
00:26:42.140 So we'll start with an easy one.
00:26:43.780 Where are you guys from?
00:26:45.200 Curb Lake.
00:26:45.560 Curb Lake First Nation.
00:26:46.980 What brings you out here today?
00:26:49.040 To support our truckers
00:26:50.940 for our freedoms,
00:26:52.060 our rights.
00:26:53.000 Our right to choice.
00:26:54.180 Yeah, our right to choice.
00:26:55.900 Now, the message
00:26:56.640 that the federal government
00:26:58.040 has given here
00:26:58.680 is that the people here
00:26:59.460 are white supremacist racists.
00:27:01.520 Now, what's your response
00:27:02.460 to that?
00:27:02.860 Hell no!
00:27:03.640 Hell no!
00:27:05.120 Hell no!
00:27:06.460 All peace and love out here.
00:27:07.980 Absolutely.
00:27:09.140 Nobody's been
00:27:09.820 disrespectful at all.
00:27:11.740 You got people walking around
00:27:12.800 picking up garbage
00:27:13.740 that's on the ground.
00:27:14.820 You get to see smiles.
00:27:15.320 Everybody's having fun smiling,
00:27:16.980 enjoying seeing people's faces.
00:27:18.580 Yeah, no matter what race,
00:27:20.160 no matter what anything,
00:27:21.260 we're coming together.
00:27:22.320 Not just one race here.
00:27:23.500 We're all united.
00:27:24.400 And that was just
00:27:25.800 one of many conversations.
00:27:27.220 People from Alberta,
00:27:28.260 from BC,
00:27:29.020 from Quebec.
00:27:30.040 My colleague,
00:27:30.940 Ali,
00:27:31.280 who is much more fluent
00:27:32.640 in French than I am,
00:27:33.620 spoke to some of the French
00:27:35.180 speakers there,
00:27:36.420 the Quebecers.
00:27:37.680 And they found
00:27:38.560 that there was
00:27:39.500 a massive,
00:27:40.700 massive reason
00:27:41.700 to be there
00:27:42.980 because of how bad
00:27:44.380 the restrictions
00:27:44.920 have gotten in Quebec.
00:27:47.020 So this is my theory
00:27:48.300 because people have asked me
00:27:49.380 in the past
00:27:49.900 how I can be more optimistic
00:27:51.480 or if I'm optimistic.
00:27:52.660 And I say,
00:27:53.100 the only thing
00:27:53.760 that gives me optimism
00:27:54.640 is that government
00:27:55.460 will push so far
00:27:56.960 that it triggers a backlash.
00:27:59.360 And the Quebec support
00:28:00.480 for the convoy
00:28:01.340 proves that.
00:28:02.580 The Quebec support
00:28:03.540 for the convoy
00:28:04.180 proves that
00:28:04.720 because the Quebecois
00:28:05.960 have been pushed.
00:28:06.840 The unvaccinated in Quebec
00:28:07.980 can't even go grocery shopping.
00:28:09.960 They can't do all of these things
00:28:11.380 that are part of being
00:28:12.180 in a free society.
00:28:13.480 And for them,
00:28:14.240 they're saying,
00:28:14.720 okay,
00:28:14.920 we've had enough.
00:28:16.040 And that's proof
00:28:17.000 that if the government
00:28:17.800 pokes the bear,
00:28:18.580 the bear will bite back.
00:28:20.080 But it did it
00:28:20.680 in a very peaceful way.
00:28:22.600 We'll have lots more
00:28:23.460 on the next show this week.
00:28:24.900 But first,
00:28:25.500 I want to talk to
00:28:26.780 one of the people
00:28:27.400 involved and instrumental
00:28:28.720 in putting this all together.
00:28:30.020 That's coming up
00:28:30.880 here on The Andrew Lawton Show.
00:28:32.500 Stay tuned.
00:28:36.020 You're tuned in
00:28:37.160 to The Andrew Lawton Show.
00:28:41.420 Welcome back
00:28:42.220 to The Andrew Lawton Show.
00:28:43.600 Well, as you saw
00:28:44.180 in the first segment there,
00:28:45.540 spoke to a lot of people
00:28:47.000 when I was in Ottawa
00:28:48.340 for the Freedom Convoy.
00:28:49.980 And if,
00:28:50.880 as it sounds like,
00:28:51.920 this is something
00:28:52.440 that's going to be there
00:28:53.060 for the long haul,
00:28:53.940 I will certainly be back.
00:28:55.300 But one person
00:28:55.940 I wanted to bring
00:28:57.020 into this discussion
00:28:57.860 is Benjamin Dichter,
00:28:59.500 who I've crossed paths
00:29:00.420 with a number of times
00:29:01.220 over the years
00:29:01.800 as an organizer
00:29:02.880 in the conservative movement
00:29:04.540 and formerly
00:29:05.300 a Conservative Party of Canada
00:29:06.960 candidate as well.
00:29:08.520 And he has been
00:29:09.680 putting a lot of this together.
00:29:11.020 He's been a spokesperson
00:29:11.760 for it.
00:29:12.480 Although, as he said,
00:29:13.860 it's difficult to make this
00:29:15.460 about a single organizer
00:29:16.560 because of how many people
00:29:17.880 are involved.
00:29:19.280 Benjamin Dichter,
00:29:19.940 good to talk to you, sir.
00:29:20.780 Thanks for coming on today.
00:29:22.560 Thank you for having me on, man.
00:29:24.100 So as someone
00:29:24.900 who's organized things before,
00:29:26.900 the big challenge
00:29:27.720 is that you can put
00:29:28.420 all these efforts in place.
00:29:29.940 You never really know
00:29:31.340 what's going to happen
00:29:32.360 until it happens.
00:29:33.300 So when you kind of
00:29:34.580 looked out your window
00:29:35.340 on Saturday,
00:29:36.160 you walked out on the streets,
00:29:37.340 did you think
00:29:38.040 it would be as big
00:29:38.860 as it was?
00:29:40.620 We had an idea
00:29:41.620 that it would be big
00:29:42.900 before we got there.
00:29:45.260 And that's where
00:29:45.960 the growing pains set in
00:29:47.860 because we initially
00:29:49.020 thought it was going to be small
00:29:49.960 and then all of a sudden,
00:29:51.040 I don't know,
00:29:52.120 Elon Musk is retweeting us
00:29:54.040 and then it goes global
00:29:55.400 and Jordan Peterson
00:29:56.480 is all over us.
00:29:57.500 So the momentum
00:29:59.080 that we carried
00:30:00.140 just went parabolic
00:30:01.580 and that just
00:30:02.580 for any sort
00:30:03.660 of organizational structure
00:30:04.740 that becomes
00:30:06.000 very difficult
00:30:06.880 to deal with.
00:30:08.040 And then the bottlenecks
00:30:09.620 set in because
00:30:10.420 you've created
00:30:11.220 these backlogs
00:30:13.120 and that's what
00:30:13.440 we're dealing with right now.
00:30:15.000 Let's talk about
00:30:15.940 the organizational aspect
00:30:17.540 of this because
00:30:18.140 it's a grassroots movement
00:30:19.560 by and large,
00:30:20.300 but there's also been
00:30:21.000 a fair bit of coordination.
00:30:22.760 So how much is just
00:30:23.900 people that are saying,
00:30:24.980 yeah, I support you
00:30:26.000 that are showing up
00:30:26.760 in Ottawa
00:30:27.260 versus stuff that you
00:30:29.000 and the people
00:30:29.660 you are working with
00:30:30.800 are doing and managing
00:30:32.080 along the way?
00:30:33.920 It started with a core team
00:30:35.500 in Alberta.
00:30:36.760 I joined very early.
00:30:37.780 I think the first day
00:30:39.280 after they started,
00:30:40.560 24 hours or so,
00:30:41.760 maybe 48 hours
00:30:43.120 was when I was called in.
00:30:44.960 And, you know,
00:30:45.940 you just have more people
00:30:47.620 start tacking on
00:30:49.460 and then we,
00:30:50.620 the division of labor,
00:30:51.660 we do the best that we can.
00:30:53.420 But unlike a typical
00:30:54.660 organizational structure,
00:30:55.820 everybody's in the office
00:30:56.640 and you can say,
00:30:57.360 okay, let's put this person
00:30:58.280 on the board,
00:30:58.800 that person on the board.
00:31:00.060 Everybody's in a truck.
00:31:01.240 Everybody's mobile.
00:31:02.880 And not always
00:31:03.780 with cell reception.
00:31:06.220 Most of the time, not.
00:31:07.780 So I'm trying to get
00:31:09.180 a hold of Tamara.
00:31:10.180 I can't get a hold of her
00:31:11.220 for two, three hours.
00:31:12.340 I send her a text message.
00:31:13.560 We're in the middle
00:31:13.960 of a conversation.
00:31:14.680 It drops.
00:31:15.700 So that just became
00:31:16.780 a nightmare.
00:31:17.280 And that's why
00:31:17.640 when we got to Ottawa,
00:31:18.980 all of these conversations
00:31:20.620 and, you know,
00:31:21.700 to-do lists that I had
00:31:22.800 and other people,
00:31:23.520 we just had this mess of things.
00:31:26.280 50 people in a room
00:31:27.760 trying to figure out,
00:31:29.440 okay, who's done what?
00:31:30.740 Who hasn't done what?
00:31:31.580 Where are the trucks?
00:31:32.400 We still don't know
00:31:33.860 how many trucks are there.
00:31:35.840 There's parking lots
00:31:37.180 and farmer's fields
00:31:38.280 full of trucks right now
00:31:40.100 outside of Ottawa
00:31:41.600 that can't get in the city
00:31:42.660 on top of everybody
00:31:43.800 that's in the city.
00:31:45.240 And now we have
00:31:45.720 a convoy of Americans
00:31:46.800 that are on the Montana-Alberta border
00:31:50.720 that it's taking hours
00:31:53.640 and hours to process them
00:31:55.300 and they're coming here.
00:31:56.180 So let me ask you
00:31:58.780 what you're after here
00:32:00.200 because originally
00:32:01.600 a lot of people
00:32:02.340 were positioning this
00:32:03.280 as being just about
00:32:04.300 the cross-border trucker mandate
00:32:05.720 which was certainly a very,
00:32:07.680 I think that was
00:32:08.660 a catalytic thing.
00:32:09.840 I think it certainly galvanized this
00:32:11.340 but you said
00:32:11.960 at a press conference
00:32:13.180 on Sunday
00:32:14.260 that we'll talk about
00:32:14.980 in a moment
00:32:15.440 that you're really seeking
00:32:16.800 the end of all
00:32:17.660 COVID restrictions
00:32:18.680 federal and provincial.
00:32:19.740 So you want Canada
00:32:20.580 to do the Denmark,
00:32:21.620 the UK,
00:32:22.500 the Ireland thing.
00:32:23.240 Is that a fair characterization?
00:32:25.720 100%.
00:32:26.160 So our message was
00:32:27.280 end the mandates
00:32:27.980 and the passport
00:32:28.700 but the idea is
00:32:30.520 that would get us back to life
00:32:32.240 because once you do that
00:32:33.300 then the momentum
00:32:34.900 is just to carry on
00:32:36.660 and go back to life as normal.
00:32:38.220 Take the face diapers off
00:32:39.820 and all of that nonsense.
00:32:41.880 All of that.
00:32:42.260 I mean, people don't have
00:32:43.480 I think the will
00:32:45.120 to keep on this way
00:32:46.120 and once they realize
00:32:47.980 okay, the government's
00:32:48.840 starting to remove
00:32:50.240 all these restrictions,
00:32:51.480 the rest will fall.
00:32:52.800 Let's talk about
00:32:53.680 the mask thing here
00:32:54.760 because I've never been
00:32:55.800 one of these people
00:32:56.580 that has made a point
00:32:58.320 of going into stores
00:32:59.460 without a mask
00:33:00.120 and my view on this
00:33:01.000 is that my grievance
00:33:02.160 is with the government
00:33:02.880 not the stores
00:33:03.640 and I know that there have been
00:33:04.820 over the last two years
00:33:05.780 individual confrontations
00:33:07.740 of people that won't wear a mask
00:33:09.280 and whatever the case may be
00:33:10.460 that has happened.
00:33:12.120 There's value in numbers
00:33:13.700 because I mentioned on Twitter
00:33:14.920 and I think it was like
00:33:15.600 one of my most popular tweets
00:33:16.780 of the weekend
00:33:17.220 that the mask mandate
00:33:18.220 in Ottawa was basically dead
00:33:19.740 because you have people
00:33:21.900 that are going into hotels
00:33:23.060 to the restaurants
00:33:23.900 that are open to stores
00:33:24.840 not wearing masks
00:33:26.220 and businesses have either decided
00:33:27.660 that it's not worth
00:33:28.360 trying to enforce
00:33:29.080 or they don't care.
00:33:30.220 So that's just one example
00:33:31.580 of how a group of people
00:33:33.040 saying we are going to be
00:33:35.000 civilly disobedient
00:33:36.060 as the term goes
00:33:36.940 can change things
00:33:38.200 and I noted
00:33:39.080 and you shared this with me
00:33:40.280 there's a story
00:33:41.240 in the National Post
00:33:42.060 this morning
00:33:42.480 health officials are hinting
00:33:43.780 at ending COVID restrictions
00:33:45.340 with a caveat
00:33:46.400 and not because of the truckers.
00:33:47.920 Well, when we see public opinion
00:33:50.480 lining up behind the truckers
00:33:52.120 and then also a shift
00:33:53.240 in the past week
00:33:53.960 in public opinion
00:33:54.720 for ending restrictions
00:33:55.700 I don't think you can say
00:33:57.300 this isn't the truckers
00:33:58.260 that had a huge role in this.
00:34:02.060 Agreed.
00:34:02.800 Your first comment
00:34:03.840 about the mask
00:34:04.720 is interesting.
00:34:05.500 Two weeks ago
00:34:06.180 I go around without
00:34:06.980 a mask everywhere.
00:34:08.160 I'm polite
00:34:08.980 and if they ask me
00:34:10.180 to put on a mask
00:34:10.980 I always have it on me
00:34:11.860 and say oh I forgot
00:34:12.900 because the more
00:34:14.420 we force people
00:34:15.480 to ask us
00:34:16.340 the more they'll get tired
00:34:17.560 of asking people
00:34:18.400 and it'll just end.
00:34:19.960 So two weeks ago
00:34:21.020 I went into my local coffee shop
00:34:22.500 I start most of my mornings
00:34:23.880 walked in without a mask
00:34:25.660 as usual
00:34:26.160 they all know me
00:34:26.920 hey how are you
00:34:27.660 the owner whatever
00:34:28.440 and some woman comes up to me
00:34:30.720 and she says
00:34:31.280 you're not wearing a mask
00:34:33.200 and then she saw my face turn
00:34:35.340 as I looked down at her
00:34:36.680 and she said
00:34:37.160 oh no no no no no
00:34:37.920 I'm
00:34:39.240 I don't want to wear the mask
00:34:41.020 how do you do it?
00:34:42.760 I said just take it off
00:34:43.620 take it off
00:34:44.700 I said you would be surprised
00:34:46.020 how many times
00:34:46.880 I'm waiting in line
00:34:48.340 in a business
00:34:49.100 or whatever
00:34:49.700 I don't have a mask
00:34:50.740 I sit there for
00:34:52.080 a minute
00:34:52.720 two minutes
00:34:53.280 and everyone else
00:34:54.600 slowly start taking
00:34:55.780 their masks off
00:34:56.740 right
00:34:57.440 and that's essentially
00:34:58.600 what this convoy
00:34:59.940 is
00:35:00.500 that's the spirit
00:35:01.540 of this convoy.
00:35:03.420 So what is it
00:35:04.640 that you're thinking
00:35:05.740 is going to happen now
00:35:07.220 because as I mentioned
00:35:08.220 earlier on the show
00:35:09.000 and as you're no doubt aware
00:35:09.940 Justin Trudeau
00:35:10.720 has not even done
00:35:11.900 the feigned sympathy
00:35:13.080 that I expected of
00:35:14.120 well I understand
00:35:15.120 the anger
00:35:15.800 I thought he would do
00:35:16.980 some patronizing
00:35:17.660 no he's just gone
00:35:18.640 right to escalating.
00:35:20.760 Oh that's exactly
00:35:21.420 what I thought he would do
00:35:22.320 I actually put a prediction
00:35:23.600 I put in Twitter
00:35:24.440 two hours before
00:35:25.480 prediction
00:35:26.580 Prime Minister
00:35:27.720 Diversity Blackface
00:35:29.620 is going to call
00:35:30.600 everyone a racist
00:35:31.760 a neo-Nazi
00:35:32.720 unacceptable
00:35:33.500 and he's going to
00:35:34.920 double down
00:35:35.440 because that's what
00:35:36.260 extremists do
00:35:37.180 they have a binary
00:35:38.400 worldview
00:35:39.000 and they have
00:35:40.100 one strategy
00:35:40.920 and I hear
00:35:41.440 from people
00:35:42.120 in Ottawa
00:35:43.800 who are in the know
00:35:44.720 are in contact
00:35:45.440 with some people
00:35:46.060 in the Liberal parties
00:35:46.840 and I do have
00:35:47.320 some contacts
00:35:48.100 that the problem
00:35:49.500 is Justin Trudeau
00:35:50.580 himself
00:35:51.220 if he was there
00:35:53.160 he was the one
00:35:54.300 pushing to agitate
00:35:55.620 the truckers
00:35:56.420 he wants to see violence
00:35:58.540 which I thought
00:35:59.260 was shocking
00:36:00.160 and I was told
00:36:01.460 yeah
00:36:01.700 the other people
00:36:02.800 in the party
00:36:03.320 are Justin
00:36:03.920 that's not what
00:36:04.900 we want to do
00:36:05.560 why don't you
00:36:06.640 just go
00:36:07.180 on vacation
00:36:08.380 right now
00:36:09.020 and we'll deal
00:36:09.820 with this strategically
00:36:10.860 we're going to have
00:36:11.420 a political solution
00:36:12.480 to this
00:36:12.940 so that gives you
00:36:14.160 the nature
00:36:14.540 of what
00:36:15.620 what he feels
00:36:16.800 which is quite scary
00:36:18.020 you've said
00:36:20.440 that you have
00:36:21.340 enough fuel
00:36:22.540 money
00:36:23.020 food
00:36:23.460 that you could
00:36:23.980 keep this going
00:36:24.700 not you
00:36:25.100 but you as the
00:36:25.940 movement
00:36:26.460 keep this going
00:36:27.660 for years
00:36:28.360 now obviously
00:36:29.040 I hope there's
00:36:29.700 no need to do that
00:36:30.760 I mean my hope
00:36:31.380 would be that
00:36:31.960 rather swiftly
00:36:33.140 a lot of these
00:36:33.740 measures that we've
00:36:34.400 been talking about
00:36:35.120 are gone
00:36:35.820 but is that the plan
00:36:37.360 that these trucks
00:36:38.020 will be there
00:36:38.700 for as long
00:36:39.640 as it takes
00:36:40.160 until every last
00:36:40.880 COVID restriction
00:36:41.620 is gone
00:36:42.120 yep
00:36:42.860 yeah
00:36:44.740 that's it
00:36:45.760 simple answer
00:36:48.060 I mean I was
00:36:50.260 trying to illustrate
00:36:50.840 the point that
00:36:51.840 A we're not
00:36:53.020 backing down
00:36:53.980 and B
00:36:54.640 we do have
00:36:55.480 the ability
00:36:55.880 to do that
00:36:56.400 we have
00:36:56.780 more than enough
00:36:57.700 money to cover
00:36:58.340 the costs
00:36:58.960 we have
00:37:00.380 enough
00:37:01.260 more than enough
00:37:02.280 truckers and trucks
00:37:03.560 that are willing
00:37:04.960 to do it
00:37:05.360 in the long haul
00:37:06.100 and one of the
00:37:07.240 videos I posted
00:37:08.180 somebody in the US
00:37:09.120 sent it
00:37:10.140 I mean it's
00:37:10.680 amateur stuff
00:37:11.440 for any trucker
00:37:12.240 but for average
00:37:13.400 people to know
00:37:14.060 if they just
00:37:15.200 disable the brake
00:37:16.100 chambers
00:37:16.560 just take their
00:37:17.460 slack adjustment
00:37:18.220 screws out
00:37:18.780 remove them
00:37:19.440 and put them
00:37:19.920 in their pocket
00:37:20.440 throw them away
00:37:21.100 lock it in a safe
00:37:22.040 in their truck
00:37:22.580 that truck
00:37:23.580 can't be towed
00:37:24.440 it's not going
00:37:25.540 anywhere
00:37:25.880 and another
00:37:27.440 video from one
00:37:28.440 of the truckers
00:37:28.920 he just posted
00:37:29.420 this morning
00:37:30.000 some woman
00:37:31.420 explained to
00:37:33.440 this trucker
00:37:34.100 that when
00:37:36.180 the city
00:37:36.640 was calling
00:37:37.360 the tow trucks
00:37:38.140 in the neighbourhood
00:37:38.860 and in neighbouring
00:37:39.760 Quebec
00:37:39.980 to say
00:37:41.120 we want to
00:37:41.600 bring some
00:37:42.300 we need
00:37:43.000 a fleet
00:37:44.100 of tow trucks
00:37:44.720 to come
00:37:45.020 into Ottawa
00:37:45.500 the response
00:37:46.820 from the tow truck
00:37:47.740 companies were
00:37:48.520 oh we all
00:37:49.480 have COVID
00:37:50.040 sorry
00:37:50.560 that's great
00:37:52.780 so there's
00:37:54.120 some solidarity
00:37:54.760 there
00:37:55.320 it's that
00:37:55.660 strike breaking
00:37:56.720 mentality
00:37:57.300 of I don't
00:37:57.920 want to go
00:37:58.280 against the
00:37:58.740 brotherhood
00:37:59.160 now
00:37:59.340 which is
00:37:59.800 interesting
00:38:00.260 because of
00:38:00.740 how much
00:38:01.340 the media
00:38:02.440 has tried
00:38:02.940 to paint
00:38:03.280 the narrative
00:38:03.780 that this
00:38:04.400 is not
00:38:04.840 representative
00:38:05.480 of the
00:38:05.780 trucking
00:38:06.140 industry
00:38:06.480 that's been
00:38:07.220 the thing
00:38:07.580 oh these
00:38:08.300 aren't real
00:38:08.740 truckers
00:38:09.400 yeah I love
00:38:10.940 how we
00:38:11.360 we define
00:38:12.040 the trucking
00:38:12.900 industry
00:38:13.360 by trucking
00:38:14.280 lobbyists
00:38:15.080 trucking
00:38:15.980 lobbyists
00:38:16.560 are not
00:38:17.060 inside a
00:38:17.600 truck
00:38:18.100 they're
00:38:18.640 usually
00:38:19.320 part of
00:38:19.740 the Liberal
00:38:20.080 Party
00:38:20.400 as we
00:38:20.720 see by
00:38:21.200 the donations
00:38:21.880 by the
00:38:22.340 Trucking
00:38:22.660 Association
00:38:23.060 so that's
00:38:24.920 just an
00:38:25.200 option
00:38:25.420 of the Liberal
00:38:25.840 Party
00:38:26.180 they're
00:38:26.600 they're
00:38:27.460 getting
00:38:27.760 lambasted
00:38:29.140 online
00:38:29.840 by people
00:38:30.840 within the
00:38:31.380 industry
00:38:31.780 who are
00:38:32.540 very very
00:38:33.260 livid with
00:38:33.780 that organization
00:38:34.460 I have a
00:38:34.880 feeling the
00:38:35.320 woman who
00:38:35.660 is running
00:38:36.060 it is not
00:38:36.700 going to be
00:38:37.040 there for
00:38:37.800 very much
00:38:38.260 longer
00:38:38.620 it's quite
00:38:39.020 an embarrassing
00:38:39.500 organization
00:38:40.320 at this
00:38:40.820 point
00:38:41.040 let me ask
00:38:42.280 you Benjamin
00:38:43.100 about the
00:38:43.520 mainstream
00:38:43.820 media's
00:38:44.580 most reviled
00:38:46.060 press conference
00:38:47.120 in the history
00:38:47.800 of press
00:38:48.260 conferences
00:38:48.760 this is
00:38:49.220 Sunday
00:38:49.580 I was
00:38:50.460 invited
00:38:50.860 a number
00:38:51.340 of other
00:38:51.700 independent
00:38:52.100 journalists
00:38:52.540 and some
00:38:53.060 journalists
00:38:53.440 from mainstream
00:38:54.260 publications
00:38:54.940 were invited
00:38:55.680 there wasn't
00:38:56.660 a time
00:38:57.100 cap
00:38:57.480 it wasn't
00:38:57.880 one question
00:38:58.460 one follow
00:38:59.040 up
00:38:59.240 it was
00:38:59.480 almost like
00:38:59.880 a round
00:39:00.300 table
00:39:00.640 format
00:39:01.080 of just
00:39:01.680 ask you
00:39:02.220 and your
00:39:02.720 co-organizers
00:39:03.920 whatever
00:39:04.360 but you
00:39:05.100 made the
00:39:05.540 decision
00:39:06.080 which I
00:39:06.820 didn't realize
00:39:07.380 at the time
00:39:08.120 until I got
00:39:08.780 there that you
00:39:09.360 were only going
00:39:10.300 to invite
00:39:10.900 independent
00:39:12.020 media
00:39:12.460 and specifically
00:39:13.500 you said there
00:39:14.240 had been a
00:39:14.600 couple of
00:39:14.940 outlets that
00:39:15.380 you had
00:39:15.600 banned
00:39:15.900 I think
00:39:16.180 CBC
00:39:16.600 and the
00:39:17.120 Toronto Star
00:39:17.800 and obviously
00:39:19.040 this went
00:39:20.000 over very well
00:39:20.820 online with
00:39:21.420 some people
00:39:21.940 and very poorly
00:39:22.780 with other
00:39:23.220 people mainly
00:39:23.900 the mainstream
00:39:24.940 media reporters
00:39:25.740 that were forced
00:39:26.360 to just get
00:39:26.840 the news
00:39:27.160 from my
00:39:27.720 Twitter feed
00:39:28.260 and Kian
00:39:28.640 Bextie's
00:39:29.180 video stream
00:39:29.780 but in all
00:39:31.360 seriousness
00:39:31.820 do you not
00:39:32.580 believe that you
00:39:33.320 should have been
00:39:33.920 speaking to those
00:39:34.720 people and should
00:39:35.580 have been confronting
00:39:36.840 a lot of what
00:39:37.940 you say are the
00:39:38.440 falsehoods head-on
00:39:39.360 absolutely not
00:39:41.160 because they're not
00:39:41.740 journalists
00:39:42.200 they're activists
00:39:43.020 and why do we
00:39:45.820 need activists
00:39:46.460 that are going
00:39:47.160 to come into
00:39:47.640 the room
00:39:48.020 take up half
00:39:49.260 the floor space
00:39:50.100 and shout
00:39:51.620 epithets
00:39:52.660 and smears
00:39:53.320 at us
00:39:53.800 that's not
00:39:54.320 a conversation
00:39:55.020 that's not
00:39:55.440 a dialogue
00:39:55.920 and that doesn't
00:39:56.880 help you
00:39:57.780 and the general
00:39:58.680 public
00:39:59.180 to find out
00:40:00.460 what's truly
00:40:01.160 going on
00:40:01.800 it's just
00:40:02.320 disruptors
00:40:02.880 and we didn't
00:40:03.260 need the
00:40:03.600 disruptors
00:40:04.120 and we could
00:40:04.580 see
00:40:05.080 I mean that
00:40:06.280 was one part
00:40:06.940 of it
00:40:07.120 but we could
00:40:07.460 also see
00:40:07.940 online
00:40:08.480 the very
00:40:10.620 direct
00:40:11.880 fake news
00:40:13.460 stories
00:40:13.960 that were
00:40:14.540 being published
00:40:15.400 by the
00:40:16.460 Toronto Star
00:40:17.140 and CBC News
00:40:18.800 just complete
00:40:20.440 falsehoods
00:40:21.740 you know
00:40:21.920 our GoFundMe
00:40:22.920 being frozen
00:40:25.300 because of
00:40:26.200 extremism
00:40:27.040 and radicalization
00:40:28.160 and then the
00:40:28.820 cartoon that
00:40:29.840 Jordan Peterson
00:40:31.280 retweeted
00:40:33.280 that Toronto Star
00:40:34.140 but like
00:40:34.520 that is
00:40:35.660 Maoist level
00:40:37.000 of propaganda
00:40:38.020 it's disgusting
00:40:39.000 that has no
00:40:41.080 place
00:40:41.620 those sorts
00:40:42.740 of unacceptable
00:40:43.660 opinions
00:40:44.380 have no place
00:40:46.180 in a news
00:40:46.860 conference
00:40:47.300 if that
00:40:47.660 makes sense
00:40:48.260 it does
00:40:49.760 so obviously
00:40:50.640 this is
00:40:51.200 something that
00:40:51.820 we as we've
00:40:52.360 talked about
00:40:52.800 is going to
00:40:53.100 be going on
00:40:53.560 for the long
00:40:54.100 haul
00:40:54.300 you're there
00:40:54.720 for the long
00:40:55.260 haul as well
00:40:55.880 what's next
00:40:56.800 what's it we
00:40:57.240 should be
00:40:57.540 watching out
00:40:58.000 for this week
00:40:58.700 well now
00:41:00.300 is the waiting
00:41:01.140 game
00:41:01.540 and they're
00:41:02.280 going to
00:41:02.560 learn that
00:41:03.320 trucks
00:41:03.700 truckers are
00:41:04.560 quite intelligent
00:41:05.900 people
00:41:06.320 they have
00:41:06.720 street smarts
00:41:07.820 they're very
00:41:08.820 patient
00:41:09.360 because truckers
00:41:10.180 we do spend
00:41:11.400 a lot of time
00:41:12.100 waiting at
00:41:12.920 calls and stuff
00:41:13.860 so we're just
00:41:15.320 going to play
00:41:15.780 this game
00:41:16.280 of chess
00:41:16.820 and we're
00:41:17.400 going to
00:41:17.580 sit here
00:41:17.920 and wait
00:41:18.300 and at
00:41:19.080 some point
00:41:19.740 the government
00:41:20.680 is going to
00:41:21.020 have absolutely
00:41:21.760 no choice
00:41:22.720 but to either
00:41:23.680 deal with us
00:41:24.560 or decide
00:41:26.540 we're going to
00:41:27.100 drop the
00:41:27.860 mandates
00:41:28.300 that we're
00:41:29.300 going to
00:41:29.560 follow the
00:41:30.020 lead of
00:41:30.640 Denmark
00:41:31.060 the United
00:41:31.920 Kingdom
00:41:32.400 and other
00:41:33.180 countries that
00:41:33.780 have announced
00:41:34.260 that they're
00:41:34.620 removing the
00:41:35.100 restrictions
00:41:35.520 which is what
00:41:36.280 I protect
00:41:36.840 they're going
00:41:37.160 to do
00:41:37.360 I mean
00:41:37.600 many politicians
00:41:38.920 especially
00:41:39.340 our ones
00:41:39.840 in government
00:41:40.980 right now
00:41:41.460 they do
00:41:42.620 tend to
00:41:43.000 take the
00:41:43.340 easy way
00:41:43.860 and the
00:41:44.340 easy way
00:41:44.780 for them
00:41:45.200 is just
00:41:46.120 to come
00:41:46.500 up with
00:41:46.860 that
00:41:47.060 they're
00:41:47.340 trying to
00:41:47.660 figure out
00:41:47.960 the spin
00:41:48.400 for that
00:41:48.780 presser
00:41:49.200 that makes
00:41:49.620 them look
00:41:50.040 good
00:41:50.340 right
00:41:50.700 which is
00:41:51.020 very difficult
00:41:51.440 right now
00:41:51.940 and the
00:41:52.640 longer they
00:41:53.120 wait
00:41:53.360 the more
00:41:53.680 difficult
00:41:54.040 it's going
00:41:54.420 to become
00:41:54.780 so I
00:41:55.920 predict
00:41:56.260 they're
00:41:56.500 going to
00:41:56.700 do an
00:41:56.960 about
00:41:57.200 face
00:41:57.600 and try
00:41:58.140 to claim
00:41:58.500 victory
00:41:58.960 that well
00:42:00.160 now we
00:42:00.680 have the
00:42:01.040 softer
00:42:01.340 variants
00:42:01.880 the
00:42:02.100 Omicron
00:42:02.720 people aren't
00:42:03.340 dying from
00:42:03.900 it it's
00:42:04.280 because of
00:42:04.720 our
00:42:04.860 restrictions
00:42:05.380 that we
00:42:06.260 saved all
00:42:06.880 of you
00:42:07.280 we've heard
00:42:08.240 Canadians
00:42:08.880 we love
00:42:09.580 Canadians
00:42:10.140 we're going
00:42:10.500 to drop
00:42:10.860 everything
00:42:11.380 and move
00:42:13.040 on and
00:42:13.900 they'll try
00:42:14.260 to claim
00:42:14.600 victory
00:42:14.980 nobody will
00:42:15.580 believe it
00:42:16.020 and then
00:42:16.260 they'll move
00:42:16.580 on to the
00:42:17.000 next
00:42:17.200 catastrophe
00:42:17.720 well I
00:42:19.120 hope to be
00:42:19.500 back in
00:42:20.000 Ottawa soon
00:42:20.760 it was quite
00:42:21.280 a sight to
00:42:22.140 behold and
00:42:23.140 I'm glad I
00:42:23.600 was able to
00:42:24.240 take part in
00:42:24.960 that inaugural
00:42:25.600 weekend of it
00:42:26.400 Benjamin Dichter
00:42:27.040 good to talk
00:42:27.480 to you again
00:42:27.780 thanks for
00:42:28.160 coming on
00:42:28.580 today
00:42:28.800 we are
00:42:29.600 tentatively
00:42:30.020 looking at
00:42:30.660 a second
00:42:31.100 press conference
00:42:31.840 this weekend
00:42:32.480 so I will
00:42:33.280 inform those
00:42:34.180 of you in
00:42:34.500 the media
00:42:34.880 and of the
00:42:35.820 details
00:42:36.180 and we'll
00:42:36.400 talk then
00:42:36.820 duly noted
00:42:37.800 thanks a lot
00:42:38.280 sir
00:42:38.460 bye
00:42:39.380 Benjamin
00:42:40.340 Dichter
00:42:40.860 spokesperson
00:42:41.320 for the
00:42:42.360 Freedom Convoy
00:42:43.280 2022
00:42:43.860 and thank you
00:42:45.220 very much
00:42:45.820 to all of you
00:42:46.640 for tuning in
00:42:47.460 and sending
00:42:47.780 your messages
00:42:48.300 of support
00:42:48.820 and also your
00:42:49.340 contributions
00:42:49.940 to send
00:42:50.560 our crew
00:42:50.980 to Ottawa
00:42:51.420 and keep
00:42:52.360 our continued
00:42:52.960 coverage going
00:42:53.680 it's very much
00:42:54.380 appreciated
00:42:54.880 as I mentioned
00:42:55.520 if this keeps
00:42:56.340 going on
00:42:56.800 I may have
00:42:57.300 to go back
00:42:58.080 hopefully the
00:42:58.740 weather will be
00:42:59.220 a bit warmer
00:42:59.740 when we do
00:43:00.700 but these are
00:43:01.440 the things we
00:43:01.920 endure to get
00:43:02.520 the story
00:43:02.960 we've got to
00:43:03.860 wrap things up
00:43:04.380 there
00:43:04.540 my thanks to
00:43:05.100 all of you
00:43:05.640 we'll talk to
00:43:06.100 you in a couple
00:43:06.500 days time
00:43:06.980 with more of
00:43:07.640 Canada's most
00:43:08.560 irreverent talk
00:43:09.240 show here on
00:43:10.180 True North
00:43:10.580 this is the
00:43:11.180 Andrew Lawton
00:43:11.640 show
00:43:11.840 thank you
00:43:12.300 God bless
00:43:12.900 and good day
00:43:13.440 thanks for
00:43:14.220 listening to
00:43:14.720 the Andrew
00:43:15.120 Lawton
00:43:15.420 show
00:43:15.720 support the
00:43:16.460 program by
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