Juno News - The Tyranny of ‘Experts’

00:00:00.000 Welcome to Canada's most irreverent talk show.

00:00:06.760 This is the Andrew Lawton Show, brought to you by True North.

00:00:12.500 Coming up, the captainless ship that is Canada throughout the coronavirus pandemic,

00:00:17.280 whether masks help you in fighting the virus,

00:00:19.780 and why a drug dealer apparently violated the coronavirus shutdown.

00:00:25.740 The Andrew Lawton Show starts right now.

00:00:30.000 Welcome, everyone, to the Andrew Lawton Show here on April 1st,

00:00:37.120 but this is not an April Fool's Day show.

00:00:39.600 Nothing that I'm about to say is a joke that is distinct from the jokes

00:00:43.700 that I would usually tell throughout the course of a show.

00:00:46.200 This is all real. I'm not trying to pull one over on you,

00:00:49.320 and I know that may be very difficult.

00:00:51.000 There is a prankster heart in me at some points,

00:00:53.940 and I know this is just a different time and place in the world

00:00:57.660 than perhaps we would normally have for pranks.

00:01:00.780 In fact, Google, which has always done an April Fool's prank or numerous April Fool's pranks,

00:01:06.900 has basically put the clamp down on no employees were allowed this year to do an April Fool's prank.

00:01:12.520 So as of this point, Wednesday morning, I have not actually seen any April Fool's pranks,

00:01:17.860 except for a friend of mine who woke up and found that his kids had done the old classic

00:01:22.240 of putting chocolate in the toilet or on the toilet seat or something like that,

00:01:26.400 which, come to think of it, I don't think I ever did as a child,

00:01:30.240 but if you are as a child going to waste a perfectly good chocolate bar

00:01:34.720 for the purposes of comedic fodder or a prank,

00:01:38.860 you are a very strong-willed child, stronger than I was,

00:01:42.240 because if I had access to an expendable chocolate bar, rest assured,

00:01:45.240 I wouldn't have been putting it down the toilet.

00:01:47.240 I mean, maybe they plan to eat it afterwards. Kids are, you know.

00:01:49.800 But in any case, I appreciate very much you tuning into Canada's

00:01:54.080 most irreverent talk show here on True North.

00:01:56.840 And I will put in a bit of a plug, just because things are moving at rapid speed here.

00:02:00.940 If you want to get the show before anyone else does,

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00:02:12.760 all of these other platforms, you'll find the links there.

00:02:15.140 And if there's a podcast service you don't see there

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00:02:24.600 We are a customer service oriented here,

00:02:26.660 which was more than we can say for the federal government,

00:02:29.620 who right now, it doesn't even seem like anyone is in charge of the federal government.

00:02:36.760 So Justin Trudeau, as you know, is doing this daily coronavirus briefing

00:02:40.680 where he's getting out at 11.15 Eastern time every day.

00:02:44.520 He's speaking for a bit.

00:02:45.720 He's taking questions from the chosen reporters that are permitted to ask questions.

00:02:50.200 And I think that on the whole, it's good for him to be visible.

00:02:54.760 And I've said this, people have been criticizing me.

00:02:56.560 They say I'm being too generous to him.

00:02:58.700 Well, no, it's that in the course of a crisis, I think we need to have a leader.

00:03:04.360 Now, this is the guy we have.

00:03:06.020 It's not the guy I wanted.

00:03:07.460 It's not the guy most people want.

00:03:09.040 But I want the leadership of Canada to succeed.

00:03:13.620 And the problem here is that we're seeing a lot of mixed messaging.

00:03:18.220 And my big concern now is that there's absolutely no one that seems to be steering the ship here.

00:03:24.460 And I want to open with a clip of Justin Trudeau talking on Tuesday.

00:03:29.520 So this was March 31st, and he was doing his daily briefing.

00:03:33.620 And there was a question from a reporter asking the prime minister to walk people through his decision-making process at the cabinet table.

00:03:41.940 And this was specifically in regard to personal protective equipment, medical gear, stuff that the federal government has access to that needs to be allocated.

00:03:51.760 But there was something very concerning in the answer that I want you to hear.

00:03:56.140 Let's roll that.

00:03:57.060 Good morning, Prime Minister.

00:03:59.220 You talked about shipments coming in the coming days and the fact that more will be needed, obviously.

00:04:06.100 So I think what I'd like you to do is can you walk us through your decision-making process around the cabinet table?

00:04:12.500 How you decide how these scarce medical resources will be allocated in the coming, in the near future?

00:04:20.160 How precisely in detail do you decide what goes where?

00:04:24.100 Thank you, Mike, for your question.

00:04:25.480 It's a very good one.

00:04:26.480 And I can tell you that we don't decide around the cabinet table.

00:04:30.500 It is not politicians who decide how resources are allocated.

00:04:35.200 We rely on experts, on medical officials, on coordination between medical officials in all different provinces to make the determination on where things are most needed.

00:04:51.020 And we follow the direct advice of medical experts in terms of how to ensure that everyone everywhere has the equipment they need.

00:05:00.520 Let's go back and hear that relevant three seconds of this.

00:05:04.240 We don't decide around the cabinet table.

00:05:07.160 It is not politicians who decide how resources are allocated.

00:05:12.100 We don't make decisions.

00:05:14.260 Politicians aren't the ones making the decisions.

00:05:16.540 Well, you know, that may be a line that sounds good.

00:05:19.200 It may be a line that tests well and polls well.

00:05:21.940 But the fact of the matter is, whatever jokes people may tell about politicians,

00:05:26.160 politicians are the ones elected to make decisions.

00:05:29.700 They're the ones elected to steer the ship, to run the show, to see Canada through that crisis.

00:05:35.900 So it's not a selling point when the prime minister of Canada, who, whether you voted for him or not, is your prime minister too,

00:05:44.340 for him to say, oh, we're not making decisions.

00:05:46.800 We're just deferring to experts.

00:05:48.840 Because the thing is, you can't vote out those experts.

00:05:53.100 You don't even know who a lot of those experts are.

00:05:55.860 He's deferring to faceless bureaucrats in a back room and trying to absolve himself and his government of any responsibility for anything that's happened up until this point.

00:06:07.000 And if the you-know-what hits the fan, he'll say, well, we were just following the experts.

00:06:12.360 We were just listening to the experts.

00:06:15.160 And by the way, if you want to look at the batting average of experts, just look at the serialization of news coverage going back to January when, oh, this is no big deal.

00:06:23.620 Experts say this is going to pass.

00:06:25.100 And then February where experts say this.

00:06:27.300 And then March when experts say this.

00:06:29.080 And now we're in April and experts are going to be saying something completely different.

00:06:32.980 Now, this is not to say that we expect everyone to get it right.

00:06:37.340 But you need to have someone that is taking control, someone that is being a leader, and someone that is prepared to take accountability over that leadership.

00:06:46.380 Because this is not the first time Justin Trudeau has used this line of thinking when he's talking about this crisis.

00:06:53.340 Remember a couple of weeks ago, which may have felt like a couple of years ago,

00:06:57.320 when the travel ban went into place after the liberals had been saying for days and for, you know, the week or two prior that, oh, travel bans don't work, border closures don't work.

00:07:08.700 And Trudeau said very clearly, well, you know, we were just following the experts.

00:07:13.480 And the experts have said this is something we need to do now.

00:07:16.680 So even then he was saying that he's not the one taking leadership.

00:07:21.580 He's not the one making decisions.

00:07:23.440 He's deferring to experts.

00:07:25.440 And again, I don't want to denigrate experts because there are smart people that are not partisans that work in government,

00:07:32.800 whether it's federal, provincial, municipal, other countries.

00:07:36.240 It's not about that.

00:07:37.580 It's that politicians are elected to lead, which means listening to the experts.

00:07:42.360 It means taking counsel from experts.

00:07:44.380 It means taking counsel from a broad range of people and ensuring that things you don't know you are brought up to speed on.

00:07:50.900 But the experts are not the ones running the show here.

00:07:55.500 And right now, I don't think anyone's steering this ship.

00:07:59.060 And the reason it's so concerning when Trudeau is deferring to these people, again, unnamed, they're faceless,

00:08:07.600 is because we're not exactly getting clear direction from some of these experts.

00:08:12.860 And I want to focus on Dr. Theresa Tam, who's become an overnight celebrity.

00:08:18.020 This is not a woman Canadians knew a couple of weeks ago, and now she's getting as much FaceTime on TV as Justin Trudeau is.

00:08:24.920 And Dr. Theresa Tam, who, again, is one of these experts.

00:08:28.640 She's not a politician. 1.00

00:08:29.880 She has a role in shaping public policy to some extent.

00:08:33.300 But her role is public health and telling the government, yes, this is from a public health perspective what we think should happen.

00:08:40.460 It's important to know the public health has never, ever, ever been intended to trump the lawful authority of lawmakers, of politicians,

00:08:51.600 because oftentimes public health agencies, especially at the local level, are unconcerned with economics.

00:08:58.740 They're unconcerned with fiscal policy.

00:09:01.500 They're unconcerned with constitutional issues.

00:09:04.040 And there's a reason that we don't allow public health officials to make decisions on their own in a vacuum.

00:09:10.500 And that's because a lot of the time, they don't care about the things that politicians and leaders and governments have to care about.

00:09:18.940 And that's not a slight at Dr. Tam.

00:09:20.960 There are certainly a couple of local health unit medical officers of health that I could point to in various communities across Canada.

00:09:28.180 And we've seen politicians or sorry, we've seen public health doctors weigh in on gun control in the past, on universal basic income, on other things like that.

00:09:37.880 So there's a reason that we don't give these people carte blanche the way that Justin Trudeau is doing.

00:09:43.560 But sometimes things happen that reinforce the idea that maybe, just maybe, we're not even getting purely health-driven advice

00:09:55.340 and purely health-driven responsiveness from these people.

00:10:01.400 And I want to talk about masks, which in the last few days have become really the great frontier of political policy and health debate,

00:10:09.620 not just in Canada, but around the world and specifically in the U.S.

00:10:13.860 And we talked about masks a bit on Monday, but masks are now a huge problem, not just because of supply issues and shortages that we're seeing

00:10:23.680 and the inability for hospitals to get them in and the volume that they need,

00:10:27.820 but we're seeing very divided lines on whether it's appropriate for someone like me,

00:10:34.860 who's not a healthcare worker, to wear a mask if I just go out to the grocery store.

00:10:39.100 And for the longest time, and you can see a bunch of news stories about this,

00:10:44.820 public health in Canada and Ontario and other provinces in Canada are saying,

00:10:50.240 we do not recommend masks for people that aren't healthcare workers or for people who don't have coronavirus.

00:10:56.480 They're saying that the virus is something that the mask will keep in, but it won't keep it out.

00:11:01.300 This has been the advice they've been giving.

00:11:03.620 Now, there's something that doesn't quite sit right with that in a lot of people,

00:11:08.040 but you know what, being good law-abiding Canadians, everyone just goes along with it.

00:11:12.380 Well, now you have the CDC re-evaluating its position on this,

00:11:17.500 and the CDC is actually considering making a recommendation that people should wear masks in the public.

00:11:24.560 Health experts are revisiting, there's that word again, experts, revisiting the question.

00:11:28.820 The CDC is considering, so they haven't changed it yet, but considering that it may help prevention

00:11:37.300 and making that recommendation that if you go out, you should wear a mask.

00:11:40.600 Now, it's not to say that this issue won't have supply-related spinoff effects that are negative,

00:11:47.900 because if the CDC says, oh, you've got to get a mask to go out in public, or you should have a mask,

00:11:52.460 everyone's going to buy them up, and suppliers are going to have trouble diverting them

00:11:56.200 solely to the front lines where they're needed more than they're needed for someone like me

00:12:01.160 that is going to the grocery store once a week. 0.80

00:12:04.280 But if it is a supply issue and not a health issue, own up to that.

00:12:09.220 I want to play a clip of Dr. Teresa Tam, who seems unable to give a clear answer

00:12:14.400 when asked the question in a very straightforward way.

00:12:18.940 Here's what happened.

00:12:19.840 And this is from Monday, after I had recorded the show, but I thought it was worthwhile sharing today.

00:12:24.700 There's two separate reasons.

00:12:26.880 I think for sure, absolutely, we want to protect our frontline healthcare workers,

00:12:32.280 and prioritizing supply in that setting is critically important,

00:12:37.360 and we're looking at all sorts of different avenues to procure.

00:12:41.820 For the public, I think the current scientific evidence,

00:12:47.900 we are continuing to evaluate.

00:12:50.040 Of course, we can be flexible if we find any new evidence.

00:12:54.800 But I think the scientific evidence is that if you are sick,

00:12:58.560 then put on a mask to prevent those droplets from flying in any space

00:13:02.780 as you're perhaps going to a clinic or having to move yourself

00:13:06.620 around the community for essential needs.

00:13:11.300 Putting a mask on an asymptomatic person is not beneficial, obviously, if you're not infected.

00:13:18.340 If you have close contact of a case, and under certain circumstances,

00:13:24.260 especially you'll also be in self-isolation, by the way,

00:13:27.440 if you're close contact of a case, and you also need to move for any essential reason.

00:13:33.420 That's perhaps another situation.

00:13:37.580 What we worry about is actually the potential negative aspects of wearing masks,

00:13:43.740 where people are not protecting their eyes or other aspects of where the virus could enter your body,

00:13:51.740 and that gives you a full sense of confidence, but also it increases the touching of your face,

00:13:58.360 if you think about it.

00:13:59.720 If you've got a mask around your face, sometimes you can't help it

00:14:02.920 because you're just touching parts of your face.

00:14:05.380 The other thing is the outside of the mask could be contaminated as well.

00:14:08.880 So the key is hand washing, absolutely for sure.

00:14:11.780 I very generously called that a verbal pretzel,

00:14:14.880 which someone said on Twitter they hope catches on.

00:14:16.800 I kind of like that.

00:14:17.380 I don't know if anyone else has used that before, but certainly I like it.

00:14:20.120 So what it sounds like she's trying to do is just avoid saying,

00:14:24.760 yes, a mask could help.

00:14:27.500 And Michelle Rempel had tweeted about this.

00:14:29.080 She said, listen, if it's all about flattening the curve

00:14:31.040 and lowering what they call the R-naught,

00:14:33.380 which is the number of people that someone with coronavirus will infect with the coronavirus,

00:14:38.100 if the goal is just to lower that as much as possible,

00:14:41.280 why wouldn't we be doing anything, even if it just gives us a marginal improvement,

00:14:46.700 especially if the cost is minimal?

00:14:48.860 This doesn't cost more than, you know, a couple of bucks to get a mask on.

00:14:52.380 It doesn't cost government resources.

00:14:54.880 It doesn't cost that much to do.

00:14:56.920 It's just a matter of having the supply there, putting a mask on,

00:15:00.120 and that could help someone which could help many more people.

00:15:03.880 And I think that's a valid question.

00:15:05.500 And it sounds like what Dr. Tam is saying here is that

00:15:09.280 they're concerned about the supply issue

00:15:11.720 if 36 million Canadians decide to go out and buy masks,

00:15:15.500 buy multiple masks, because they aren't,

00:15:17.740 I think you can get a bit more than one use out of them,

00:15:20.200 but certainly they aren't meant to be just reusable over and over again.

00:15:24.000 And her arguments about, you know,

00:15:26.400 how a mask could have virus on the outside, I think is valid.

00:15:29.740 But if it has virus on the outside,

00:15:33.120 that means that were you not wearing the mask,

00:15:35.900 that would have been on your face, in your mouth, in your nose.

00:15:38.900 So she makes the point

00:15:41.280 that a lot of people who are proponents of wearing masks

00:15:45.640 have been trying to make,

00:15:47.180 which is that, yeah, this mask will help you just a little bit.

00:15:50.680 It doesn't mean that it's going to, you know,

00:15:52.800 give you a false sense of,

00:15:54.480 or shouldn't give you a false sense of security,

00:15:56.240 but it will give you more security

00:15:58.720 than just walking around bare-faced

00:16:01.380 if you incorporate all of those other things

00:16:04.200 like hand-washing, not fidgeting with the mask,

00:16:07.040 not touching your face excessively, all of that.

00:16:09.280 It's not meant to be a cure-all, it's not a panacea,

00:16:11.760 but it is something that could help.

00:16:13.860 And it seems like she's unable to give a clear answer

00:16:16.740 because she knows it would help.

00:16:18.760 She knows it would.

00:16:21.020 So when Justin Trudeau says,

00:16:22.800 we're listening to the experts

00:16:24.660 and doing whatever they say,

00:16:26.480 those experts include Dr. Tam,

00:16:28.780 who I have respect for.

00:16:30.980 I have respect for this woman.

00:16:32.540 She's very smart.

00:16:33.680 I think she's been a very steady hand.

00:16:35.400 She's communicated things generally very clearly,

00:16:38.480 but let's also be realistic

00:16:40.960 in looking that she's not always been the most accurate

00:16:44.320 in her predictions throughout the course of this,

00:16:47.160 since January.

00:16:48.000 I mean, if you look at some of the responsiveness

00:16:51.260 that she has given going back to,

00:16:54.960 I forget the first date of it,

00:16:56.460 but going back to, I think it was early January,

00:16:58.780 or late January,

00:16:59.520 she says that the virus can cross borders.

00:17:03.220 You need to do a multi-layer response.

00:17:05.260 The focus needs to be on China.

00:17:06.900 Then a few days later,

00:17:09.120 she's reminding people that travel restrictions

00:17:11.740 are inappropriate.

00:17:12.940 And then a little while after that,

00:17:14.700 she's saying we need to shut down the borders,

00:17:16.680 restrict travel, quarantine people,

00:17:18.540 and now she's wavering on masks.

00:17:21.480 So we need to look at the trajectory of this virus

00:17:24.680 and say that it hasn't been in alignment

00:17:26.540 with the trajectory that the experts predicted

00:17:29.600 it would take back in January

00:17:31.840 when this started to expand outside of China.

00:17:35.160 And we started to see spread in places outside of China,

00:17:38.560 including in Canada.

00:17:41.240 So you look at other countries

00:17:43.180 that have handled this virus incredibly well,

00:17:45.720 like South Korea, Singapore, Japan.

00:17:48.420 I think Taiwan is in this boat as well

00:17:50.380 as far as the masks, but I'm not sure.

00:17:52.320 But certainly South Korea, Singapore, and Japan,

00:17:54.760 they advised everyone to use masks.

00:17:57.600 Singapore and Japan actually distributed masks

00:18:00.140 to residents.

00:18:01.200 And you look at their numbers,

00:18:02.560 and it's not that the masks are solely responsible

00:18:05.380 for the relatively strong showing,

00:18:07.960 but they are a part of a strategy that worked.

00:18:11.020 And I think that we should be looking at other countries

00:18:13.020 that have managed to kick this

00:18:15.040 better than it seems like Canada is.

00:18:18.980 And the other aspect of what Dr. Tam said about masks

00:18:22.240 that I think is a bit concerning here

00:18:24.520 is that if you're not wearing,

00:18:26.120 if you don't have symptoms,

00:18:27.120 you shouldn't be wearing it

00:18:28.300 because now we're learning a bit more

00:18:30.320 about asymptomatic transmission

00:18:31.860 and asymptomatic infection.

00:18:33.960 And another statement from the CDC director

00:18:37.540 that I think really shakes up a lot of the issues

00:18:40.760 or the things that we think we know about COVID-19,

00:18:44.780 the CDC director said,

00:18:46.240 according to a New York Times article,

00:18:48.340 that as many as 25% of people infected

00:18:51.200 with the coronavirus may not show symptoms.

00:18:55.020 So this means that people that are thinking

00:18:58.180 they're fine, that don't feel sick,

00:18:59.640 they don't have a cold,

00:19:00.400 they don't have a fever,

00:19:01.220 they don't have a cough,

00:19:01.940 are in fact potentially carrying COVID-19,

00:19:06.140 they're walking around,

00:19:07.420 they're infecting other people.

00:19:09.380 So to say that if you don't have symptoms,

00:19:12.440 you don't need to wear a mask

00:19:14.940 is not even keeping with what the latest research

00:19:18.240 is saying about who can be transmitting this

00:19:22.160 and who is transmitting this

00:19:23.700 and who is actually infected.

00:19:25.420 Now, it's important to note

00:19:26.640 that this is just one study

00:19:28.180 and we're seeing the rapid expansion

00:19:30.660 of the field of research on this

00:19:32.380 and in some cases, very contradictory findings.

00:19:35.380 So it could be that this is reversed in a few days

00:19:38.140 or reversed in a week,

00:19:39.260 but generally speaking,

00:19:40.700 if the CDC says something,

00:19:42.320 it's worth listening to

00:19:43.480 because even Canadian public health agencies

00:19:45.900 are oftentimes deferring to what the CDC is saying.

00:19:49.460 So as far as, you know,

00:19:50.460 like lining up and saying,

00:19:51.560 what are the experts saying?

00:19:52.760 CDC's experts seem to be better

00:19:54.580 than a lot of the other experts

00:19:55.920 that governments call on.

00:19:58.500 So this is not me saying

00:20:00.620 that everyone needs to get on a mask.

00:20:02.020 I'm still going out to the grocery store mask-free

00:20:04.380 and I'm fine with that.

00:20:06.060 I feel comfortable with that.

00:20:07.240 But I don't think we should be denigrating those

00:20:09.840 who do feel like that added comfort is important.

00:20:12.960 And if someone is out walking around in the world

00:20:15.200 and they feel like,

00:20:16.780 hey, you know what?

00:20:17.420 Maybe if this gives me even like a 3% better chance

00:20:20.480 at not getting COVID-19,

00:20:22.000 it seems like a gamble worth taking

00:20:24.240 when the cost of it

00:20:25.640 is just a little bit of an itchy face

00:20:27.180 and, you know,

00:20:27.780 the couple of dollars

00:20:28.520 that I have to spend on the mask.

00:20:30.460 This doesn't seem unreasonable.

00:20:32.640 And I'm expecting

00:20:33.680 the Canadian health answer to change

00:20:35.580 because apparently for the Canadian government,

00:20:37.740 public health recommendations

00:20:38.860 are changing every three days

00:20:40.480 and no one's supposed to question why.

00:20:43.440 And Trudeau,

00:20:44.480 because he has absolved himself

00:20:46.540 of the decision-making responsibility,

00:20:49.100 he's abrogated his duty,

00:20:50.820 he's just able to say,

00:20:51.960 oh, no, well, the health advice changed.

00:20:54.360 I'm not a doctor.

00:20:55.460 They're doctors.

00:20:56.300 They said to do this

00:20:57.380 and I'm going to do this.

00:20:59.200 And I think the most powerful position

00:21:01.140 in the world right now

00:21:02.380 would be to be

00:21:03.480 Justin Trudeau's personal physician

00:21:05.260 because it sounds like

00:21:06.920 you could get Justin Trudeau

00:21:08.220 just to like run out

00:21:09.780 on Torito Street wearing no pants

00:21:11.840 if you convinced him

00:21:13.220 that it was in his medical interest

00:21:14.640 to do so

00:21:15.340 because after all,

00:21:16.440 he's just not challenging

00:21:17.740 anything that he's told.

00:21:19.640 He's not challenging

00:21:20.600 any of the medical advice,

00:21:22.080 scientific advice,

00:21:23.380 policy advice

00:21:24.660 coming from doctors and scientists.

00:21:26.760 He's just,

00:21:27.080 oh, well, you said it

00:21:28.060 and I do it.

00:21:28.440 So he's not a prime minister right now.

00:21:30.420 He is a jukebox.

00:21:32.200 Justin Trudeau is the jukebox prime minister.

00:21:34.600 You put a quarter in,

00:21:35.660 you get a song.

00:21:36.440 You put a quarter in,

00:21:37.260 you get a song.

00:21:37.900 That's it.

00:21:38.980 There's no questioning it.

00:21:40.340 There's no response.

00:21:41.500 There's no,

00:21:41.820 hmm, I don't want to play that song.

00:21:43.320 There's no,

00:21:43.880 hmm, are you sure you want to listen

00:21:45.060 to Mamma Mia 17 times in a row?

00:21:47.060 To which the answer is always yes,

00:21:48.420 by the way.

00:21:49.020 He's just responding

00:21:50.580 with whatever he's asked to do

00:21:53.000 and told to do.

00:21:54.860 Now, yeah,

00:21:55.460 he's the loyal foot soldier

00:21:56.800 of the bureaucracy right now,

00:21:58.320 but for a country

00:21:59.320 that needs leadership,

00:22:00.760 deserves leadership

00:22:01.720 and a public health crisis

00:22:03.380 that warrants leadership,

00:22:05.180 this is not what we voted for.

00:22:08.660 This is not what we voted for.

00:22:10.120 So for Justin Trudeau to say,

00:22:12.460 we just listen to the experts,

00:22:14.040 whatever they say,

00:22:15.160 we do.

00:22:16.480 He is not giving Canadians confidence.

00:22:19.580 If anything,

00:22:20.380 he's showing that,

00:22:21.320 well, he's in isolation.

00:22:22.620 He's just on some Netflix binge.

00:22:24.580 He's watching Tiger King.

00:22:26.180 Maybe he's waiting

00:22:26.860 for the new money heist season

00:22:28.160 to come out in a couple of days,

00:22:29.520 but he's just emerging

00:22:30.820 like the groundhog

00:22:32.200 every day for his 11.15 a.m.

00:22:34.440 Do I see my shadow briefing?

00:22:36.540 And then going back in,

00:22:37.980 well, all of these other people

00:22:39.100 you've never heard of

00:22:40.080 are making decisions

00:22:41.340 that impact your health,

00:22:42.980 that impact your life,

00:22:44.040 your pocketbook,

00:22:45.320 your work,

00:22:45.980 and your rights.

00:22:47.980 And we're just supposed

00:22:48.960 to be grateful

00:22:49.680 because, oh,

00:22:50.380 well, he's listening

00:22:51.220 to the experts.

00:22:53.020 We've got to take a break.

00:22:54.120 When we come back,

00:22:54.780 more of The Andrew Lawton Show

00:22:56.200 here on True North.

00:22:59.420 You're tuned in

00:23:00.560 to The Andrew Lawton Show.

00:23:06.440 You know,

00:23:07.080 just as they say

00:23:07.680 politics makes

00:23:08.480 for strange bedfellows,

00:23:09.900 coronavirus makes

00:23:10.780 for some strange stories.

00:23:12.320 This one I just

00:23:13.940 absolutely adore.

00:23:15.420 It comes courtesy

00:23:16.680 of Adrian Humphreys

00:23:17.780 in the National Post

00:23:19.420 from Hamilton, Ontario.

00:23:21.480 Hamilton police arrest

00:23:22.940 an alleged drug dealer

00:23:24.420 for violating shutdown

00:23:25.720 of non-essential business.

00:23:27.880 Is that just not like

00:23:28.600 the headline of the year

00:23:29.520 right there?

00:23:30.520 The response of this story

00:23:32.600 comes from a 29-year-old man

00:23:35.000 who was charged

00:23:35.640 with drug trafficking

00:23:36.600 and proceeds of crime charges,

00:23:38.200 but while Hamilton police

00:23:40.000 were busting him

00:23:41.020 for allegedly dealing drugs

00:23:43.320 in the Hamilton region

00:23:45.380 near McMaster University,

00:23:46.600 they also slapped down

00:23:48.540 a fine for violating

00:23:49.800 the provincial shutdown

00:23:51.140 of non-essential business.

00:23:52.500 So if he were illegally

00:23:54.100 selling masks,

00:23:55.760 he would be fine.

00:23:56.720 If he were illegally

00:23:57.960 selling pharmaceuticals

00:23:59.820 because pharmacies are allowed,

00:24:01.740 he would have been fine.

00:24:02.740 But for selling drugs,

00:24:04.360 he's unfortunately been charged

00:24:06.020 with non-essential business,

00:24:08.520 which is actually funny

00:24:09.440 because the government

00:24:10.520 has carved out an exemption

00:24:12.420 in the mandatory shutdown,

00:24:14.480 which is in effect in Ontario

00:24:15.680 and I think pretty much

00:24:16.760 all other provinces.

00:24:18.120 But they've carved out

00:24:18.960 an exemption for liquor stores,

00:24:21.080 beer stores,

00:24:22.160 and cannabis stores.

00:24:23.700 And the rationale being

00:24:24.920 that anyone who's addicted

00:24:26.160 to something,

00:24:27.220 it would be dangerous

00:24:28.100 for them to be off cold turkey.

00:24:29.740 So that steady supply

00:24:31.020 is important.

00:24:32.120 So he actually, I think,

00:24:33.600 has an argument

00:24:34.260 in defense.

00:24:34.820 I mean, he still has to admit

00:24:35.680 to the drug trafficking stuff,

00:24:37.040 but he has an argument that,

00:24:38.340 oh, well, actually,

00:24:39.060 I thought that serving addicts

00:24:40.740 was an essential business.

00:24:42.120 So if he can say

00:24:43.140 that all of his people

00:24:43.940 would have been in jeopardy

00:24:45.140 if they didn't keep

00:24:45.760 buying from him,

00:24:46.720 he might actually have

00:24:47.940 a solid defense here.

00:24:49.420 But in any case,

00:24:50.580 that was probably like

00:24:51.460 my favorite coronavirus headline.

00:24:54.140 I think it is actually.

00:24:55.480 Of all the ones that I've read,

00:24:56.520 probably my favorite

00:24:57.300 coronavirus headline.

00:24:58.760 So that is completely fine

00:25:01.200 that police are still,

00:25:03.300 as they go after drug dealers,

00:25:04.920 ensuring that they're keeping

00:25:05.940 the emergency orders

00:25:07.040 at hand there.

00:25:09.100 You know, the other aspect

00:25:10.700 of this that's interesting,

00:25:12.220 and if you watch

00:25:12.860 True North Update,

00:25:13.860 Candace and I on Tuesday

00:25:14.980 this week had a bit

00:25:16.160 of a back and forth on this,

00:25:17.800 whether suspending jail

00:25:19.920 and prison sentences

00:25:21.080 is a good idea

00:25:22.060 when COVID-19 outbreaks

00:25:24.240 are feared in prisons

00:25:25.900 and jails.

00:25:26.740 And in Ontario,

00:25:27.800 a couple of weeks ago,

00:25:28.880 the government moved

00:25:29.900 to make it so that anyone

00:25:31.620 who serves the sentence

00:25:32.580 on weekends

00:25:33.240 can serve it from home.

00:25:35.160 They further allowed release

00:25:37.000 of early release

00:25:38.240 of non-violent offenders,

00:25:39.860 people that were nearing

00:25:40.600 the end of their sentence anyway,

00:25:42.280 especially because jails

00:25:43.520 are overcrowded in Ontario.

00:25:45.400 And now prisons in Canada,

00:25:47.520 which are a different animal

00:25:48.960 because they have

00:25:49.780 a lot of violent offenders,

00:25:50.840 are seeing COVID-19 outbreaks

00:25:53.780 as well.

00:25:54.780 And the big problem with this

00:25:57.060 is that we are looking at

00:25:59.380 a country that still has,

00:26:01.680 I think, a very firm grasp

00:26:03.160 on the importance

00:26:04.560 of making people pay

00:26:05.800 for their crimes.

00:26:06.600 I think people still want that.

00:26:08.520 But at the same time,

00:26:10.900 you also have to look at

00:26:12.120 public health.

00:26:13.300 And I'm not a big believer

00:26:15.000 in having to stack up rights

00:26:16.560 against each other.

00:26:17.520 I think that true rights

00:26:18.740 are not in conflict

00:26:19.700 with one another.

00:26:20.760 Where it gets murkier

00:26:21.840 is when we invent rights

00:26:23.140 or when we do something

00:26:24.200 that's not strictly

00:26:25.020 a rights issue.

00:26:26.900 So right now,

00:26:28.020 the government is,

00:26:29.200 Public Safety Minister

00:26:30.180 Bill Blair says,

00:26:31.360 asking the Federal Prison Service

00:26:33.460 and the Parole Board

00:26:34.360 to look at early release

00:26:35.640 for some offenders

00:26:37.080 to prevent the spread

00:26:38.200 of COVID-19 in prisons.

00:26:40.440 So the government

00:26:41.120 is trying to basically see

00:26:43.460 if there's anyone

00:26:44.060 they can get rid of

00:26:45.180 just to ease the burden

00:26:46.820 in the prison system.

00:26:49.000 And this is not talking

00:26:50.380 about letting Paul Bernardo out

00:26:52.120 because, you know what,

00:26:53.300 he might get COVID-19.

00:26:54.360 It's talking about people

00:26:55.380 that, you know,

00:26:56.200 maybe they only have

00:26:57.080 two, three, four months left,

00:26:58.460 but they're people

00:26:59.200 that were designated

00:27:00.580 for release in the first place.

00:27:03.500 And I think that

00:27:04.740 as a matter of practicality,

00:27:07.060 there is nothing wrong with this.

00:27:08.840 It really sucks

00:27:09.960 if you're a guy

00:27:10.580 that served a 10-year sentence

00:27:12.240 that ended three months ago

00:27:13.720 versus you're a guy

00:27:15.040 that's serving a, you know,

00:27:16.340 a 10-year sentence now

00:27:17.560 and, you know,

00:27:18.880 he had to serve the full thing

00:27:20.320 and you didn't.

00:27:21.280 If you're a Christian, 1.00

00:27:22.020 it's like the laborers 0.96

00:27:22.920 in the vineyard parable, though.

00:27:24.300 You know, just not everyone

00:27:26.140 gets an equal outcome,

00:27:27.120 but you can't really complain

00:27:28.240 as long as what you had

00:27:29.340 was what you were sold.

00:27:30.760 But at the same time,

00:27:31.900 I'm looking at this

00:27:33.020 and I'm also very much aware

00:27:36.060 that there are cases

00:27:37.480 where people who are

00:27:38.620 violent offenders

00:27:39.560 are released

00:27:40.760 because they've served

00:27:41.940 their sentence

00:27:42.560 and the government

00:27:43.680 still has no mechanism

00:27:44.740 to keep them behind bars.

00:27:46.040 And I fear that this system,

00:27:48.800 if it results in something,

00:27:51.300 this system is going to do

00:27:53.180 more of that

00:27:54.080 in that it will send out people

00:27:55.700 that are violent offenders,

00:27:58.000 that are at a high risk

00:27:58.860 to re-offend,

00:27:59.700 but have still served

00:28:00.840 their sentence.

00:28:01.920 And this is a sentencing problem.

00:28:03.840 It's a court's problem,

00:28:04.860 but it's a court's problem

00:28:06.500 that the government

00:28:07.180 may now invite more violence

00:28:09.900 from and more risk from here.

00:28:11.480 So I'm very hopeful

00:28:13.400 that it won't go down that road,

00:28:15.260 but I'm very aware

00:28:16.780 of the possibility

00:28:17.600 that it will

00:28:18.480 because you see all the time.

00:28:20.400 And, you know,

00:28:20.880 I used to get local police releases

00:28:22.460 in my city

00:28:23.100 and you'd get not so infrequently

00:28:25.320 a press release

00:28:26.180 from the police

00:28:26.640 that said,

00:28:27.020 hey, just warning people

00:28:28.040 that a violent offender

00:28:30.080 has just been released

00:28:30.960 into the community.

00:28:31.640 And you're like,

00:28:32.180 wait, what?

00:28:32.920 And this was happening

00:28:33.920 not infrequently

00:28:35.100 in communities across the country

00:28:36.980 because if someone

00:28:38.280 is sentenced to 10 years

00:28:39.360 and they're at a high risk

00:28:40.600 to re-offend

00:28:41.180 and they've served no remorse,

00:28:42.600 even if they're not paroled

00:28:43.840 and they don't get out

00:28:44.700 on good behavior,

00:28:45.820 that 10 years will still elapse.

00:28:48.540 And some people reform,

00:28:50.040 some people are ready

00:28:51.020 to go out

00:28:51.480 and rebuild their life,

00:28:52.380 others aren't.

00:28:53.420 So when the federal prison system

00:28:55.700 is talking about

00:28:56.420 early release for COVID-19,

00:28:58.800 yes, in principle,

00:28:59.980 I think it's a good idea

00:29:01.240 if you have a very specific

00:29:03.620 type of candidate,

00:29:05.180 but we're looking

00:29:06.160 at the prison system

00:29:07.140 where everyone who's there

00:29:08.200 has been sentenced

00:29:08.760 to more than two years.

00:29:09.760 You have a lot

00:29:10.660 of violent offenders.

00:29:11.460 You have a lot

00:29:12.120 of organized crime connections.

00:29:13.680 You have a lot

00:29:14.440 of these issues

00:29:14.980 that are not exactly

00:29:15.880 recipes for,

00:29:17.360 all right,

00:29:17.920 well, you know,

00:29:18.400 we'll just let you out

00:29:19.220 and hope for the best.

00:29:20.620 So that's my big concern there.

00:29:22.600 And who knows,

00:29:23.240 maybe the Hamilton drug dealer

00:29:25.040 will get out on good behavior.

00:29:27.860 Maybe he won't even

00:29:28.420 get to go to jail

00:29:29.140 because they're putting

00:29:30.520 a bit of a barrier in place

00:29:32.480 so that they don't increase

00:29:33.820 the prison population.

00:29:35.900 In any case,

00:29:37.080 you know,

00:29:37.340 I'm looking at some

00:29:38.380 of the emails

00:29:39.400 that I've gotten

00:29:40.000 and I spoke on Monday's show

00:29:42.180 about my own paranoia

00:29:44.200 and I try to bare my soul

00:29:45.900 for you

00:29:46.380 and tell you

00:29:46.820 what I'm going through

00:29:47.540 and then I get a bunch of,

00:29:48.920 a bunch of very critical response.

00:29:51.460 Let me tell you,

00:29:53.000 for the record,

00:29:54.320 when I say I dove

00:29:55.520 into the bushes

00:29:56.240 to avoid someone

00:29:57.920 that was walking towards me,

00:29:59.400 I don't mean I dove.

00:30:00.600 I mean I jumped

00:30:01.780 into the bushes,

00:30:03.120 which maybe isn't

00:30:04.020 even all that better.

00:30:04.720 But I did share that

00:30:07.720 because again,

00:30:08.420 the point that I'm trying

00:30:09.180 to make here

00:30:09.700 is that if everyone

00:30:10.700 is supposed to play

00:30:11.700 by the same rules

00:30:12.740 and everyone is supposed

00:30:13.960 to adhere to this same

00:30:15.300 social expectation,

00:30:18.220 the reason I take it seriously

00:30:20.040 is not because I'm worried

00:30:22.160 about getting sick

00:30:22.820 but because I don't want

00:30:23.600 to get other people sick.

00:30:24.760 But more importantly,

00:30:26.060 I think that right now,

00:30:27.700 everyone abiding by

00:30:29.340 these requests

00:30:30.540 from the government,

00:30:31.520 which is just an icky expression,

00:30:33.060 I know,

00:30:33.360 but everyone abiding

00:30:34.600 by these requests

00:30:35.420 from the government

00:30:36.100 is the best defense

00:30:37.720 against government

00:30:38.560 making them no longer requests.

00:30:40.880 And that's the importance here.

00:30:42.600 If everyone starts saying,

00:30:44.280 ah, you know what,

00:30:44.920 I'm going to go

00:30:45.380 and travel anyway

00:30:46.240 and I'm not going to do

00:30:47.200 the 14-day isolation,

00:30:49.240 which is what happened,

00:30:50.140 government responds

00:30:50.980 by saying,

00:30:51.720 okay,

00:30:52.340 your 14-day isolation

00:30:53.700 is now a mandatory

00:30:54.840 14-day quarantine.

00:30:56.500 If government says,

00:30:57.560 hey,

00:30:57.740 we're asking

00:30:58.660 non-essential businesses

00:30:59.660 to close

00:31:00.260 and a bunch of businesses

00:31:01.460 say,

00:31:01.860 ah,

00:31:02.080 it's fine,

00:31:02.840 we're just,

00:31:03.560 we just want the business,

00:31:04.540 then what happens?

00:31:06.520 Government says,

00:31:07.240 all right,

00:31:07.540 I hereby order

00:31:08.360 non-essential business

00:31:09.660 to close.

00:31:10.760 When government says,

00:31:11.980 hey,

00:31:12.300 listen,

00:31:12.640 don't go to kids' playgrounds,

00:31:14.020 don't have your kids

00:31:15.100 having these outdoor playdates

00:31:16.380 and everyone says,

00:31:16.940 ah,

00:31:17.180 I'm going to do it anyway,

00:31:18.260 what does government do? 0.81

00:31:19.300 They shut down playgrounds,

00:31:20.680 they shut down parks.

00:31:22.220 So the reason

00:31:23.200 that I think

00:31:23.820 individuals

00:31:24.520 should voluntarily

00:31:26.060 go along

00:31:27.360 with things

00:31:28.040 that are not

00:31:28.800 hard to go along with

00:31:30.420 is so that you

00:31:32.120 don't force

00:31:32.900 the government's hand

00:31:33.880 to making these things

00:31:35.540 permanent

00:31:36.240 and making them

00:31:37.620 so that you can

00:31:38.500 actually get slapped

00:31:39.580 with a big fine

00:31:40.360 like the Hamilton

00:31:41.280 drug dealer did.

00:31:42.100 Maybe he's not

00:31:42.840 the great example

00:31:43.540 that I want to hold up.

00:31:44.880 But that's why

00:31:45.760 you have to do this

00:31:47.040 or should do it

00:31:48.240 because if you

00:31:49.140 don't take it seriously,

00:31:50.120 the government is going

00:31:50.840 to make you take it seriously

00:31:52.000 and that's a lot worse

00:31:53.500 than just making sure

00:31:54.420 you leave a six-foot berth

00:31:56.080 when you're walking

00:31:56.700 down the street.

00:31:57.320 I got an email

00:31:58.220 from Terry though

00:31:58.980 that I found was funny

00:32:00.060 and I had to share it

00:32:01.100 with you.

00:32:02.060 Terry was talking

00:32:04.420 about another story

00:32:05.140 I told which was

00:32:05.840 when a guy in a

00:32:06.680 takeout restaurant

00:32:07.400 put his hand on my shoulder

00:32:08.460 and after I had been

00:32:09.680 so conscientious

00:32:10.860 about social distancing

00:32:11.920 I got kind of paranoid.

00:32:13.820 He said,

00:32:14.320 you think you actually

00:32:15.220 really believe

00:32:15.920 that a guy placing

00:32:16.640 his hand on your shoulder

00:32:17.560 is an OMG moment?

00:32:18.900 Not helpful, Andrew.

00:32:19.860 Not helpful.

00:32:20.740 I had a fool

00:32:21.360 jump off the effing sidewalk

00:32:22.800 as he approached me

00:32:23.660 the other day.

00:32:24.540 I laughed at him.

00:32:25.700 Well played, Terry.

00:32:26.600 Well played.

00:32:27.320 That was me.

00:32:28.000 And if I do walk

00:32:29.060 towards you, Terry

00:32:29.740 and I jump out

00:32:30.300 of the bushes

00:32:30.660 do say a hello

00:32:31.480 but do it from

00:32:32.620 six feet away

00:32:33.680 if you don't mind.

00:32:34.660 We have to take

00:32:35.640 another quick break here.

00:32:36.900 When we come back

00:32:37.500 we'll close things out

00:32:38.420 on today's episode

00:32:39.520 of The Andrew Lawton Show.

00:32:40.940 Stay tuned.

00:32:42.900 You're tuned in

00:32:44.000 to The Andrew Lawton Show.

00:32:47.660 Welcome back

00:32:48.420 as we focused on

00:32:49.420 in the earlier part

00:32:50.560 of the show

00:32:50.860 the big picture

00:32:51.600 of coronavirus.

00:32:52.720 We'll look at

00:32:53.080 some little odds

00:32:53.720 and ends

00:32:54.200 of the fight

00:32:55.200 against this pandemic now

00:32:56.540 and in particular

00:32:57.640 this one is for

00:32:58.680 all of my Turkmenistan

00:32:59.840 listeners.

00:33:00.600 I don't know if I have

00:33:01.420 any Turkmenistan listeners.

00:33:03.220 I probably have more

00:33:04.340 Turkmenistan listeners

00:33:05.460 than Quebec listeners

00:33:06.460 and I've also said

00:33:07.260 Turkmenistan more

00:33:08.180 in the last 30 seconds

00:33:09.580 than I have

00:33:10.200 in my entire life.

00:33:11.980 But nevertheless

00:33:12.540 Turkmenistan has banned

00:33:14.260 the use of the word

00:33:15.560 coronavirus

00:33:16.180 so don't play this show

00:33:17.560 out loud

00:33:17.940 if you are in Turkmenistan.

00:33:19.880 I gotta stop

00:33:20.360 saying Turkmenistan

00:33:21.120 but actually

00:33:22.220 I'm really looking forward

00:33:23.160 to saying the name

00:33:24.660 of the head of state

00:33:25.780 of Turkmenistan

00:33:26.400 in a moment

00:33:27.040 which I'm gonna put up

00:33:28.240 on the screen

00:33:28.720 because I can't

00:33:29.760 actually say it.

00:33:31.320 But Turkmenistan claims

00:33:32.800 it has no coronavirus cases

00:33:34.840 but if you utter the word

00:33:37.140 while waiting for the bus

00:33:38.600 in say Ashgabat

00:33:40.800 you may be arrested.

00:33:43.160 The Turkmenistan government

00:33:44.840 or the Turkmen government

00:33:46.020 has banned the word.

00:33:47.600 Apparently they are

00:33:49.620 a notoriously secretive

00:33:51.020 and restrictive country

00:33:52.080 which I didn't know

00:33:52.860 and the head of government

00:33:55.040 there, the president

00:33:56.020 who is a

00:33:56.760 as described by NPR

00:33:58.400 flamboyant 0.81

00:33:59.820 dentist rapper

00:34:00.920 strong man

00:34:01.840 named

00:34:03.300 Gurbangooli

00:34:04.480 Bertie Mukamedov

00:34:06.260 which is actually

00:34:07.080 the sound of

00:34:08.340 when you're

00:34:09.080 gargling your toothpaste

00:34:10.320 before you spit it out.

00:34:12.280 Gurbangooli

00:34:12.920 Bertie Mukamedov

00:34:14.080 which you can never say

00:34:15.700 so it's not like Beetlejuice

00:34:17.200 because you can never

00:34:17.840 actually say it

00:34:18.480 three times in a row

00:34:19.340 without changing it

00:34:20.720 but Gurbangooli

00:34:21.920 Bertie Mukamedov

00:34:22.780 said that

00:34:23.640 no I'm not having a stroke

00:34:25.560 that's his name

00:34:26.120 said that

00:34:27.160 apparently you shouldn't

00:34:29.320 be talking about it

00:34:30.240 plainclothes officers

00:34:31.180 are even arresting people

00:34:32.340 who wear face masks

00:34:33.640 or discuss the pandemic

00:34:35.520 because they're trying

00:34:36.360 to do the whole

00:34:36.980 everything is fine thing

00:34:38.100 which works for North Korea

00:34:39.560 which apparently

00:34:40.440 has no cases as well.

00:34:41.780 It's easy to get your

00:34:42.620 cases down to zero

00:34:43.760 when you just execute

00:34:44.680 anyone who coughs in public

00:34:45.940 so that's what's

00:34:47.140 happening here

00:34:47.660 but it's hard to believe

00:34:49.360 especially because

00:34:50.180 Turkmenistan is

00:34:51.400 immediately to the

00:34:52.080 north of Iran

00:34:52.820 which was at a time

00:34:54.600 the epicenter

00:34:55.840 of the virus

00:34:56.740 so I don't think

00:34:58.180 that Gerbil

00:34:58.920 necessarily wants

00:35:01.720 to accept the reality

00:35:02.720 that he's probably

00:35:03.760 not as good

00:35:04.400 at keeping it

00:35:04.980 out of his borders

00:35:05.820 as he thinks

00:35:07.100 and also

00:35:08.400 let's look at

00:35:09.460 the thing that

00:35:10.060 everyone's been

00:35:10.600 talking about

00:35:11.160 I don't know

00:35:11.500 if you are

00:35:12.140 working at home

00:35:13.360 or if you have

00:35:14.320 a spouse

00:35:14.740 who's working

00:35:15.260 at home as well

00:35:16.020 certainly in our home

00:35:17.700 I'm working

00:35:18.280 from a home studio here

00:35:19.380 my wife is working

00:35:20.280 from our new

00:35:21.380 home office headquarters

00:35:22.460 as well

00:35:23.000 marriage is still

00:35:24.040 going strong

00:35:24.740 which is more

00:35:25.500 than can be said

00:35:26.220 for China

00:35:26.820 when everyone

00:35:28.200 has emerged

00:35:28.720 from quarantine

00:35:29.340 to find that

00:35:30.400 divorce lawyers

00:35:31.180 are all of a sudden

00:35:32.200 the hottest commodities

00:35:33.040 in China

00:35:34.240 according to a story

00:35:36.160 in Bloomberg

00:35:37.040 Business Week

00:35:38.160 everyone has been

00:35:39.380 coming out of quarantine

00:35:40.220 and the first thing

00:35:41.600 they've done

00:35:42.340 is had to go

00:35:43.220 find divorce lawyers

00:35:44.220 because they've realized

00:35:45.840 that you know what

00:35:46.600 when you have

00:35:47.240 the pressure cooker

00:35:48.420 that is

00:35:48.940 or to use the modern term

00:35:50.300 the instant pot

00:35:51.160 that is home quarantine

00:35:52.500 with your loved one

00:35:53.780 sometimes you realize

00:35:54.660 they might not be

00:35:55.420 a loved one

00:35:56.200 now on a sadder note

00:35:58.240 incidents of domestic

00:35:59.440 violence multiplied

00:36:00.660 I've heard

00:36:01.640 a friend of mine

00:36:02.760 who runs

00:36:03.320 an abused women's center

00:36:04.660 here has just said

00:36:05.660 that's like the

00:36:06.160 heartbreaking part of this

00:36:07.220 when people

00:36:07.720 are forced to share

00:36:09.160 a roof with someone

00:36:10.080 who is a danger

00:36:11.660 to them

00:36:12.080 or a threat

00:36:12.720 to them

00:36:13.120 but the aspect

00:36:15.520 that people

00:36:15.920 weren't surprised

00:36:16.600 by that everyone

00:36:17.140 joked about

00:36:17.720 that now seems

00:36:18.420 to be at least

00:36:19.000 in China

00:36:19.400 materializing

00:36:20.280 is marital breakdown

00:36:22.020 so you look at

00:36:23.660 how the smallest

00:36:25.500 things they say

00:36:26.480 trivial matters

00:36:27.280 in life led

00:36:27.940 to the escalation

00:36:28.760 of conflicts

00:36:29.440 and poor communication

00:36:30.860 has caused

00:36:31.680 everyone to be

00:36:32.480 disappointed in marriage

00:36:33.500 and make the decision

00:36:34.720 to divorce

00:36:35.220 that's from

00:36:35.900 the Milu

00:36:38.820 city registration

00:36:40.260 center director

00:36:41.200 Yi Zhao Yan

00:36:42.160 and that's unfortunate

00:36:43.740 but the Shanghai

00:36:44.420 divorce lawyer

00:36:45.020 Steve Lee

00:36:45.560 has said

00:36:46.080 that a 25% 0.76

00:36:46.980 increase is good

00:36:47.700 for him

00:36:48.060 so some industries

00:36:49.900 are apparently

00:36:50.860 coronavirus proof

00:36:51.980 and this is one

00:36:53.260 of them

00:36:53.480 now we talked

00:36:55.360 on Monday's show

00:36:56.400 about the foreign

00:36:57.880 minister in Canada

00:36:58.760 Francois-Philippe

00:36:59.600 Champagne

00:37:00.100 basically lauding

00:37:01.700 China for its 0.98

00:37:02.480 generosity

00:37:03.060 and in this week

00:37:04.920 still more

00:37:06.320 countries are

00:37:07.560 finding that

00:37:08.300 their gear

00:37:09.240 from China

00:37:09.800 is defective

00:37:10.680 Justin Trudeau

00:37:11.340 so far has

00:37:12.000 not acknowledged

00:37:12.760 there as being

00:37:13.880 any downside

00:37:14.720 to the equipment

00:37:16.160 that we've received

00:37:16.860 from China

00:37:17.400 I don't know

00:37:18.320 if he will admit it

00:37:19.100 he's just saying

00:37:19.780 that Canada

00:37:20.300 is testing it

00:37:21.100 and inspecting it

00:37:21.960 and hoping for the

00:37:22.660 best and all

00:37:23.660 that stuff

00:37:24.140 but the title

00:37:25.800 of last episode

00:37:27.320 was China

00:37:28.380 lied people

00:37:29.060 died

00:37:29.420 and I do not

00:37:30.580 want you to

00:37:31.140 forget those

00:37:32.080 four words

00:37:32.860 they're not my

00:37:33.440 words other people

00:37:34.280 have said them

00:37:34.900 but China

00:37:35.880 deserves to pay

00:37:37.120 China needs to pay 1.00

00:37:38.400 and the response

00:37:39.880 from Western

00:37:40.520 leadership needs

00:37:41.480 to be that

00:37:42.340 they will make

00:37:42.960 China pay 0.81

00:37:43.640 and so far

00:37:44.840 that isn't

00:37:45.240 happening yet

00:37:46.020 maybe it will

00:37:47.060 when the dust

00:37:47.620 settles

00:37:48.000 but that will

00:37:48.600 be the next

00:37:49.120 battleground

00:37:49.740 once we get

00:37:50.340 past the public

00:37:51.040 health crisis

00:37:51.720 is are you

00:37:52.820 going to hold

00:37:53.520 China to account 0.97

00:37:54.520 are you going

00:37:55.460 to hold China

00:37:56.100 responsible

00:37:56.680 and are you

00:37:57.680 going to demand

00:37:58.620 accountability

00:37:59.500 reparations

00:38:00.640 punitive measures

00:38:01.640 whatever the case

00:38:02.760 may be

00:38:03.160 and to be honest

00:38:04.240 I'm not optimistic

00:38:05.100 Justin Trudeau

00:38:05.860 will

00:38:06.160 I've been trying

00:38:07.920 to get into

00:38:09.200 the Trudeau

00:38:09.900 press conferences

00:38:10.660 every day

00:38:11.220 and they do

00:38:12.400 them by teleconference

00:38:13.360 if you're not

00:38:13.820 in Ottawa

00:38:14.260 and you know

00:38:15.300 I hear the same

00:38:15.840 reporters asking

00:38:16.620 questions every day

00:38:17.500 and they're not

00:38:17.940 picking my question

00:38:18.840 from the teleconference

00:38:19.780 line

00:38:20.080 so I'm pretty sure

00:38:21.140 that Trudeau

00:38:21.680 is still

00:38:22.260 like he was

00:38:23.360 during the last

00:38:24.000 federal election

00:38:24.740 banning True North

00:38:25.740 from covering him

00:38:26.940 but the thing

00:38:27.880 about it

00:38:28.440 is that I would

00:38:29.440 love to hear

00:38:30.120 someone else

00:38:30.900 if you're a

00:38:31.320 mainstream media

00:38:31.960 reporter

00:38:32.360 and you have

00:38:32.800 access

00:38:33.200 I would love

00:38:33.980 to hear

00:38:34.160 someone ask

00:38:34.660 Trudeau

00:38:34.980 the question

00:38:35.540 do you

00:38:36.400 trust

00:38:36.840 China's 0.76

00:38:37.520 numbers

00:38:38.000 that's it

00:38:39.640 do you

00:38:39.980 trust

00:38:40.240 China's 0.76

00:38:40.620 numbers

00:38:40.900 because if

00:38:41.620 he says

00:38:41.960 no

00:38:42.300 then the

00:38:42.600 question

00:38:42.880 is

00:38:43.040 what

00:38:43.180 are you

00:38:43.320 doing

00:38:43.600 about it

00:38:44.100 and if

00:38:44.660 he says

00:38:44.960 yes

00:38:45.340 then it

00:38:45.740 gives us

00:38:46.100 everything

00:38:46.360 we need

00:38:46.760 to know

00:38:47.100 about

00:38:47.760 Canada's

00:38:48.360 approach

00:38:48.720 to China

00:38:49.280 that despite

00:38:49.860 everything

00:38:50.340 that China 0.93

00:38:50.780 has done

00:38:51.240 despite China 0.97

00:38:52.180 having the

00:38:52.640 two Michaels

00:38:53.200 despite China's 0.99

00:38:54.100 export of

00:38:54.680 shoddy equipment

00:38:55.420 despite China's 0.99

00:38:56.760 attempt to

00:38:57.340 infiltrate the

00:38:58.080 Canadian

00:38:58.400 government

00:38:58.920 despite China's 0.99

00:39:00.180 espionage

00:39:00.880 efforts

00:39:01.280 China's 0.76

00:39:01.840 poor human

00:39:02.980 rights record

00:39:03.660 despite all of

00:39:04.680 that you're

00:39:05.060 prepared to

00:39:05.560 give them

00:39:05.920 the benefit

00:39:06.380 of the doubt

00:39:06.860 so that's the

00:39:07.860 question that I

00:39:08.400 would love to

00:39:08.900 hear Justin

00:39:09.460 Trudeau answer

00:39:10.180 and it won't

00:39:11.580 be me who

00:39:12.240 asks it because

00:39:12.880 I can't but

00:39:13.420 I'll keep

00:39:13.700 trying and I

00:39:14.840 think that you

00:39:15.280 should ask your

00:39:15.860 local members of

00:39:16.640 parliament

00:39:16.940 whatever their

00:39:17.480 party is

00:39:18.020 that very

00:39:18.700 question do you

00:39:19.400 trust China's 0.99

00:39:20.080 numbers and let

00:39:20.620 me know if you

00:39:21.060 get a response

00:39:21.640 we've got to

00:39:22.580 wrap things up

00:39:23.220 for today

00:39:23.880 we'll be back

00:39:24.400 next week with

00:39:25.300 more of Canada's

00:39:26.340 most irreverent

00:39:27.220 talk show and

00:39:28.180 every weekday

00:39:28.800 Candace Malcolm

00:39:29.420 and I doing

00:39:30.080 true north update

00:39:30.920 throughout this

00:39:31.400 coronavirus pandemic

00:39:32.620 we will talk to

00:39:33.920 you next time

00:39:34.420 thank you God

00:39:35.040 bless and good

00:39:35.900 day Canada

00:39:36.440 thanks for

00:39:37.460 listening to the

00:39:38.060 Andrew Lawton

00:39:38.660 show support the

00:39:39.700 program by donating

00:39:40.580 to true north at

00:39:41.500 www.tnc.news

00:39:44.380 We'll be right back.

Juno News - April 01, 2020

The Tyranny of ‘Experts’

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