Mark Slapinski

00:00:00.160 Polyev is on fire lately. He's been ruining the careers of journalists almost every day,

00:00:05.300 so much so that it's hard to keep up with. For today's episode, we're going to watch Polyev

00:00:09.880 square off with seasoned CBC journalist Catherine Cullen. Now, this woman is no amateur. She's been

00:00:15.660 doing this for over 20 years. So let's see how it goes.

00:00:19.220 Here, Polyev. Welcome to the house. 0.52

00:00:22.020 Thank you for having me.

00:00:23.520 You have obviously seen these latest threats from Donald Trump. What, if anything, should

00:00:27.900 Canada do differently in response?

00:00:31.020 So right off the bat, Colin throws a curveball at Polyev. She doesn't even wait to get into it. 0.99

00:00:35.960 Like I said, this woman's pretty seasoned. Now let's see how Polyev responds. 0.77

00:00:39.940 Well, we've called on the prime minister and the government to allow the International Trade

00:00:44.220 Committee to reconvene right now to have emergency hearings. This will be a chance for all parties

00:00:49.920 to work together on a plan to get back to the table, get a deal done that will end the tariffs

00:00:57.820 allow Canadians unfettered access again to the American market, get rid of the softwood tariffs,

00:01:03.780 the Buy America rules, the tariffs that have since come in under President Trump, and to

00:01:09.700 as well provide the Americans assurance that we're going to rebuild our military in order

00:01:15.240 to do our part in continental security. I think that is the best way forward in order

00:01:20.500 to get a deal and bring some certainty to the Canadian economy and to our workers.

00:01:25.320 Your party has suggested that this move to have the committee meet is a way to show support to

00:01:30.480 the prime minister. The prime minister, though, does already get a lot of advice when it comes

00:01:35.160 to these negotiations. Obviously, he has his team, the ambassador, cabinet, the premiers of all

00:01:39.900 political stripes, his Canada-US council. What do you think this would add that he's not already

00:01:44.020 getting?

00:01:44.280 Well, first of all, I think it's important that he be transparent and demonstrate he has a plan.

00:01:50.300 Regionally, he said that he would have a deal at the G7, and then it became a deal by the 21st of

00:01:58.200 July. And now we see it's delayed again to August the 1st. And we want to know what the plan is to put

00:02:05.900 an end to the tariff chaos. Secondly, I think it would allow us to redouble our pressure on the

00:02:12.060 government to reverse the disastrous liberal economic policies that have made us so hopelessly

00:02:17.260 reliant on the Americans. For example, to pressure the repeal, full repeal of C-69, the anti-pipeline

00:02:24.900 and anti-energy law, the tanker ban, the energy cap, the industrial carbon tax, the plastics ban.

00:02:31.680 And all these things are really beating our economy to the ground and making us more dependent on the

00:02:37.160 Americans. We need is a plan to bring home production and paychecks to this country, put 0.99

00:02:42.300 Canada first. And that's one of the things that we think we could put on the table in immediate 0.61

00:02:48.240 hearings on international trade at the committee.

00:02:51.220 You recently suggested that by canceling the digital services tax, this was about two weeks ago,

00:02:56.140 Mark Carney was putting his elbows down. Do you believe that Canada should have kept that tax in place?

00:03:01.680 I think the tax is a bad idea. I would have used it as a bargaining chip to get concessions in

00:03:08.360 return. I should say, sir, we don't know, right? Did you see that? She just cut Polyeva off mid-sentence.

00:03:14.660 Not only is it super rude to do that, she's trying to control the narrative and paint Carney in a 1.00

00:03:19.300 positive light. For example, because the negotiations aren't public, we don't know whether Canada got

00:03:24.300 anything back, right? We don't know, but it tends to be a mistake to give the concession before you

00:03:32.200 get one in return. Now, I agree with getting rid of the tax. It was a disastrous tax that would have

00:03:37.260 made life more expensive for Canadians. But we have to negotiate to get an end to the softwood

00:03:43.820 tariffs that came in under Obama, Biden, and now Trump, and that are hammering our forestry sector.

00:03:51.260 We need an end to the Buy America policies that are killing construction jobs in Canada,

00:03:56.860 an exemption that Mr. Harper got when he was prime minister. So far, Prime Minister Carney has not

00:04:03.680 received any concessions. He hasn't made any headway, and I don't blame him entirely for that.

00:04:09.940 Obviously, he's dealing with unfair treatment by the Americans. But we want to see some wins for

00:04:16.300 Canada, and we have suggestions on how to get those wins, because really, we have to put our

00:04:21.560 country first, and that's what we're asking for. As always, Paul Yev had a great response. He's

00:04:26.380 remaining calm, pushing back with facts. Mark Carney is letting Donald Trump walk all over him, and he

00:04:32.160 hasn't gotten any good deals for Canada. Now, this interviewer is fierce. Watch how she pushes back. 1.00

00:04:37.980 I mean, you say he hasn't made any headway, and I would again say that that may or may not prove to

00:04:43.140 be the case, because so much of this is happening away from the public eye. But I want to go back

00:04:47.120 to what Donald Trump has just said. Now, of course, this woman is trying to flip the script around 0.89

00:04:50.680 on Paul Yev. Fortunately, he's prepared. Let's watch the master in action.

00:04:55.680 If I could, on that point, just say, and I hope he does. I hope that you're right. I hope that there

00:05:00.000 are some big wins for Canada. And I told Prime Minister Carney in our several conversations that

00:05:06.380 conservatives stand ready to help in any way we can to reach out to lawmakers on the American side

00:05:11.480 of the border to offer suggestions and present a united Canadian front, because we really do hope

00:05:17.040 that we get a good deal for all Canadians. Excellent response. You can see how Paul Yev grabs control of

00:05:22.240 the conversation. But this woman is fierce. Watch her try to flip the script again. Has he taken you up 0.99

00:05:27.940 on that, or have you done that proactively? So far, I have talked to numerous lawmakers and advocated for

00:05:35.280 the Canadian position. But we haven't formally engaged in traveling to the U.S. at this point.

00:05:42.680 But I told the Prime Minister that we as Canadian conservatives, we put our country first and we're

00:05:48.980 prepared to work with anybody from any party to get a good deal for Canada.

00:05:53.640 Want to drop a few names for us, Mr. Paul Yev? Who have you been speaking to?

00:05:57.320 Well, I spoke to Pete Sessions. He's a congressman from Texas. I spoke to a number of other congressmen

00:06:04.680 who were in town for the Calvary Stampede in passing. And, you know, and I'm, we stand ready

00:06:11.940 to do more. If the Prime Minister wants us to help engage in the diplomatic process, we're happy to do

00:06:18.800 it. One great way to do that is let's pull back the International Trade Committee and work together

00:06:23.040 on getting the message out. Now, this woman's really fierce. She keeps trying to catch Paul Yev off guard, 0.80

00:06:28.620 and she's asking really specific spitfire questions. Fortunately, Paul Yev, like always,

00:06:34.040 is prepared. Paul Yev is holding his ground and he's doing so very well. I'm proud of him.

00:06:38.920 So I want to continue with this latest message from President Trump. He has said that Canada will

00:06:44.120 face greater tariffs if we try to retaliate against a higher level of tariffs that he is proposing.

00:06:50.320 Should those threats stop Canada from retaliation? Do we need to heed that warning?

00:06:55.440 You notice how the interviewer just keeps asking about Trump? We're about five minutes into the

00:06:59.880 interview, and that's all she's asked about is Trump, Trump, Trump. Now, she probably knows that

00:07:04.060 if Paul Yev was in office, we'd already have a trade deal with the United States and probably a

00:07:08.000 trade deal with China too. And that's why she's trying so hard to turn this around on him.

00:07:13.740 I think we should try to get the deal done on the deadline. And that way, we don't have to worry

00:07:20.660 about tariffs that hurt both of our countries. I'm at a company right now in Statler, Alberta that

00:07:26.700 has been said that they're paying the import tariffs that Canada is charging on some of the

00:07:33.160 materials they put into their products. And we want to make sure that whatever tariffs that we

00:07:39.040 counter with against the Americans do maximum impact on the American side of the border, minimal

00:07:45.160 impact on the Canadian side, we should only be targeting things that we can make ourselves that

00:07:50.840 we can get from other countries or that we don't ultimately need so that we minimize the economic

00:07:56.840 pain that Canadians pay for an act that frankly is not the fault of our people or our country.

00:08:04.380 That was the perfect answer from Paul Yev. Now, let's watch because the interviewer is getting

00:08:08.480 really desperate right now.

00:08:10.060 You mentioned the deadline and you talked about the fact that it has changed a few times, but

00:08:14.080 fundamentally, Mark Carney said the purpose of this deadline is deadlines focus the mind.

00:08:18.280 Was the deadline a good idea, sir? Or did that put Canada on the back foot?

00:08:22.660 Well, the challenge with a unilateral self-imposed deadline is it tells the counterparty that they

00:08:29.420 have you on a clock and a clock that only applies to you. It's like if we're playing chess and on your

00:08:35.400 side, it's speed chess and you have a clock on for your, you have to watch while you're making your

00:08:41.560 move. And I don't, uh, then I have a lot more ability to sit back and watch the board while

00:08:47.500 you're watching the clock. And that, so I, I personally think it would have been better, uh,

00:08:53.420 not to show that, uh, upfront to the Americans because we know that president Trump will try

00:08:59.440 to take advantage of it. Uh, that said, we do think that there are, that we do need to work

00:09:04.060 to get this done as quickly as possible because every passing day brings uncertainty and paralysis.

00:09:10.040 I just want to ask you one more thing about this trade situation. Um, we can all see, and this is

00:09:15.080 not necessarily new, but the president is quite hung up on Canada's supply management system.

00:09:20.700 If that is ultimately where the deal hinges, if that's what's standing in the way of a deal,

00:09:27.120 do you believe that Canada should be willing to give a little bit to allow Americans to sell

00:09:33.060 more of their products here? Well, what I would say to the America, to our American friends is,

00:09:38.840 are you willing to get rid of the tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars of farm subsidies

00:09:44.760 that the American taxpayer gives producers on their side of the border and that ultimately present a

00:09:51.760 big disadvantage to our farmers. You know, our farmers have to compete with massive multi-billion 0.99

00:09:57.700 dollar subsidies on the American side that we don't get here. And so I, I do find it passing strange

00:10:05.620 that the U S government would say that our farmers are somehow getting an, an unfair advantage,

00:10:11.700 but I also don't think we should be making, I don't think we should be making, you know,

00:10:16.220 these kinds of, um, proactive unilateral concessions, um, because the, that's not how you do a

00:10:23.960 negotiation. But is there any wiggle room is what I want to understand from your point of view,

00:10:27.320 because it's a very politically charged issue in Canada. But it, there, there already has been

00:10:32.000 wiggling. The last USMCA allowed for more market access by the Americans. I'm not even sure if the

00:10:38.520 American producers are using the market access that they, that, that prime minister Trudeau

00:10:44.340 sacrificed. Uh, there's also been new penalties on Canadian, Canadian exports of dairy in the prior

00:10:51.620 USMCA. So I, I think that Canada has made, the liberal government has made big concessions on this

00:10:57.300 already. And the problem is they're not getting anything in return. Napoleon is doing a fantastic

00:11:01.760 job right now. He's got the brain of a supercomputer and a black belt in common sense. Now listen to the

00:11:07.720 interviewer's next question. He's governing. I know you want to make the case for a conservative

00:11:11.720 government, but that referendum is likely to come sooner rather than later. Would you say to them,

00:11:15.980 they should stay even with Mark Carney in power? Now the interviewer just dropped the bomb right

00:11:21.680 there, trying to ask about a potential Alberta separation. Now listen to Polyev's response.

00:11:27.100 They should stay in Canada. Yes. Are you, are you, and are you actively advocating? Yeah. If you're

00:11:31.820 asking me, absolutely. I'm advocating for a United Canada. And I say that on the doorstep.

00:11:37.060 I say it, uh, when I'm in town halls, I say it every time it comes up, I set it at the Calgary

00:11:42.520 stampede. So there's no, I'm not being wishy-washy about this. I'm a Canadian. I'm a Canadian

00:11:46.680 patriot. I'm proud that I grew up in Southern Alberta, uh, you know, in Calgary. And I'm a very

00:11:52.920 proud, uh, born and bred Albertan. Canada is my country. Canada is the country that the people in

00:12:00.080 Battle River Crowfoot call home. If you look around this, this community, the communities here,

00:12:04.580 you will see the Canadian flag everywhere. It's on front lawns. It's on doorsteps. It's on people.

00:12:10.460 People have Canadian flags on their pickup trucks. Um, this is a very patriotic place. And I have

00:12:15.980 with no hesitation whatsoever saying that Alberta should be part of Canada. And I should also say

00:12:21.360 though, the days of telling Alberta to pay up and shut up, to just send more and more money to 0.91

00:12:26.460 Ottawa while the government, while the liberal government, their blocks pipelines, destroys the

00:12:31.460 energy sector, uh, disrespects farmers, harms the economy. Those days, those days are over. We need

00:12:37.160 to respect what Alberta is contributing. We need pipelines built. We need to repeal C 69, the anti-

00:12:43.660 pipeline law, get rid of the tanker ban, the energy cap, the industrial carbon tax. We need to respect

00:12:49.100 licensed firearms owners and farmers. Those are all things that can happen within a United Canada. And I

00:12:55.260 pledge to be both a champion for fairness for Alberta and a United Canada for our entire country.

00:13:00.960 Boom. Polyev had the perfect answer right there. And I agree with him a hundred percent. I believe

00:13:05.820 that Canada is stronger United. Now I understand there's a lot of Albertans that are really upset

00:13:10.900 with the Mark Carney government and a fourth consecutive liberal win. However, I believe that

00:13:16.240 we need to be patient because we're stronger together. Now watch this next part. This is where

00:13:21.160 Ms. Colin really tries to embarrass Polyev. If you couldn't win your own ridings or why should 1.00

00:13:27.060 people in Alberta and across the country give you a second chance? Oh no, she literally went there.

00:13:33.320 She literally went there. Now listen to Polyev's response. Well, listen, um, the reality is we got

00:13:39.880 8.3 million votes across the country at 2.5 million more than we had in the prior election. We added 25 seats.

00:13:47.920 We got the largest share of vote of a conservative party has had since 1988. So there, the answer is

00:13:55.980 that, uh, the voice that I bring represents those 8 million plus people who believed in my message of

00:14:03.380 fighting inflation, of getting affordable homes built, of locking up criminals, defeating drugs,

00:14:08.780 unleashing our resources. Those are the messages and those things mattered to those people. And I think

00:14:14.140 that if you look at how the debate has changed in Canada as a result of the arguments and the causes

00:14:20.300 that I've taken on, uh, that voice, uh, has been very important to countless people. And it's a voice

00:14:26.180 I want to amplify. Polyev just destroyed her right there. I will admit Ms. Colin put up her best fight,

00:14:32.160 but she lost. Polyev knocked her down and he kept her down that whole interview. That was just a

00:14:38.540 masterclass on how to deal with woke biased liberal journalists. These liberal journalists,

00:14:43.940 they literally get paid to embarrass people like Polyev, but Polyev just showed us all. Once again,

00:14:49.420 you can win any debate. As long as you remain calm, you come prepared and you push back with cold,

00:14:56.020 hard facts. So for the next steps, Polyev will be back in the house of commons in about a week.

00:15:00.980 And people keep asking, Mark, are you going to do live streams? I thought about it. The answer to that

00:15:05.860 question is yes. You wanted it. I'm going to do it. Now it's a lot of work. It is a lot of work,

00:15:11.580 but I'm going to do it. So I've already got the first one set up. I'll put the link in the description

00:15:15.620 so you can bookmark it and be ready. So it'll be next week, two o'clock Toronto time. So I'll see you

00:15:23.140 then. Now, I also want to point out a quick note. I'm under heavy attack for my positive reporting on

00:15:28.080 Polyev. I actually had my phone hacked last weekend and I'm not sure exactly what happened, but 1.00

00:15:34.100 someone got it into my phone. Now, I don't think any personal sensitive information was stolen,

00:15:38.940 but they were sending some crazy messages to people in what I believe was an act of sabotage.

00:15:44.220 Fortunately, I caught it right away and I believe at least at this point, my phone is secure. So I

00:15:49.500 just want to throw it out there that these are the risks that people like me face for giving people

00:15:53.700 the truth. Scary, but hey, this is what I signed up for. But anyway, that's all I have for today.

00:15:59.520 Thanks for tuning in. Talk to you tomorrow, Patriots.

ROUND 1： Poilievre Dominates Interview With CBC's Catherine Cullen

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