Off the Record - November 30, 2024


This is all Trudeau’s fault


Episode Stats

Length

33 minutes

Words per Minute

182.10074

Word Count

6,054

Sentence Count

371

Misogynist Sentences

12

Hate Speech Sentences

13


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 So are you all ready for Christmas, Rachel?
00:00:01.600 Have you completed your shopping?
00:00:04.320 Is that a thing that people get done this early in the year?
00:00:07.580 You might be.
00:00:08.340 William, I've been so busy working that, you know,
00:00:12.060 I haven't even started thinking about my Christmas shopping yet.
00:00:15.140 I've just been really focused on, you know, the American election
00:00:18.800 and then immediately afterwards now this tariff fret moving over us.
00:00:21.920 So I don't really have time left in my schedule to think about anything else.
00:00:25.400 I'm absolutely focused on work 100% of the time.
00:00:28.160 And you should definitely remember that this weekend,
00:00:29.880 when you're working on our performance reviews.
00:00:32.620 Well, I was thinking, you know, those tariffs,
00:00:35.200 if they come to pass and it creates a spike in the price of goods on both sides,
00:00:40.180 we're definitely going to want to get our Christmas shopping done
00:00:42.120 and maybe even buy next year's Christmas gifts
00:00:44.480 before we see them go up in price.
00:00:47.780 But hopefully, as we're going to talk about,
00:00:49.600 hopefully cooler heads prevail and we don't see those tariffs come in.
00:00:54.580 Yeah, it's just a bit of a vibe session that our political leaders are having.
00:00:58.360 Nothing negative is actually going to come from it.
00:01:00.500 All right.
00:01:00.700 Now I've given away too much about today's show.
00:01:02.860 Let's get it started.
00:01:10.260 Hey, everyone.
00:01:11.220 Welcome to Off The Record, our Friday fun show.
00:01:15.240 I am your host today, Rachel Parker,
00:01:17.260 and I am joined by my colleagues, William McBeat and Isaac Lamoureux.
00:01:22.600 William and Isaac, thank you so much for being here today
00:01:25.120 to discuss the crazy and fun stories that happen this week in Canadian politics.
00:01:30.980 I want to start it off with something that I have been covering very closely this week,
00:01:35.680 and that is the looming threat from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump
00:01:39.340 of 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods coming into the U.S.
00:01:44.960 unless Canada cleans up its act and stops the flow of illegals into the United States
00:01:50.580 as well as the flow of drugs.
00:01:53.280 Now, William, you've been around a little longer than me.
00:01:56.340 What's your take?
00:01:57.720 Yeah, I mean, this was a problem that didn't just crop up overnight.
00:02:01.880 It's a problem that's been nine years in the making ever since Prime Minister Trudeau
00:02:07.040 and his merry band of incompetent cabinet ministers took office.
00:02:11.760 We've seen what was once an immigration system that was praised by President-elect Donald Trump.
00:02:19.120 He pointed to Canada as a model for how to do an immigration system
00:02:23.440 to one that has now put Canada on a knife's edge economically.
00:02:28.520 And, you know, what are the factors?
00:02:30.300 Well, the first thing is Trudeau completely lost control of the Canadian border.
00:02:35.120 He basically invited the entire world to come to Canada.
00:02:39.140 We didn't do adequate background checks into these people.
00:02:42.580 We've allowed millions of non-permanent resident immigrants
00:02:46.640 to come into the country in the last year alone.
00:02:49.540 And now we have no real idea of how to control this,
00:02:53.340 of how to get this problem under control.
00:02:55.940 And you're right, it requires political will.
00:02:58.260 But that's not something this government is particularly known for.
00:03:02.680 If it isn't climate change or other pet woke issues like how many genders there are
00:03:08.920 and what people kind is, this government just doesn't care.
00:03:13.000 And, you know, True North's Candace Malcolm wrote a great article on this,
00:03:17.440 talking a little bit about how we lost our way.
00:03:19.820 One stat she cited, which I think is really important,
00:03:24.580 is that when it comes to terrorists, potential or actual terrorists entering the United States
00:03:31.440 apprehended by U.S. border and customs,
00:03:35.380 Canada has had more than five times the number of terrorists entering the United States across its border
00:03:42.120 than Mexico has with it.
00:03:43.820 So you're right, when it comes to drugs, when it comes to sheer numbers of immigrants,
00:03:48.940 Mexico is by far a problem.
00:03:50.240 But when it comes to terrorism, that's Canada's problem.
00:03:53.120 And we are by far a bigger threat than Mexico in that regard.
00:03:56.160 So I think the president is right to express concern
00:03:58.400 about allowing terrorists into the United States across the northern border.
00:04:02.680 Well, just last, earlier this month, one of India's most wanted terrorists was arrested
00:04:09.640 in relation to a shooting in Toronto.
00:04:12.300 What is one of India's most wanted terrorists doing in Canada in the first place?
00:04:18.120 That's a question that we should all be asking ourselves.
00:04:20.640 And to your point, William, it's something that the Americans are noticing.
00:04:24.160 They are seeing the security breaches that we are having here in Canada.
00:04:27.740 They are seeing the types of people that we are allowing into our country.
00:04:31.180 They recognize that these people are crossing the border into the states.
00:04:34.940 And they are finally saying enough of this.
00:04:37.960 Isaac, we have talked about the absence of leadership from Trudeau's file.
00:04:42.720 I know that you cover the Alberta government very closely.
00:04:45.680 What is Danielle Smith doing differently?
00:04:48.940 Yeah, so I wrote two articles that touched on this.
00:04:53.200 Firstly, I wrote about the premier's meeting that they convened yesterday
00:04:57.840 with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when they, of course, discussed the looming tariff
00:05:03.640 and the border issues.
00:05:05.060 And interestingly, although perhaps unsurprisingly,
00:05:09.100 Smith was the premier to come out the most outspoken after the meeting.
00:05:13.600 Some of the premiers merely just referenced it.
00:05:16.100 Some didn't talk about it at all.
00:05:17.480 But Smith came out with a huge statement on all of her concerns that she covered in the meeting
00:05:23.160 that weren't only about the border, but of course, as you could imagine,
00:05:26.540 about energy security, the production cap, etc.
00:05:29.960 Other premiers who were outspoken was, of course, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.
00:05:35.220 And he said what you alluded to there, Rachel, which was he said,
00:05:38.340 look, we need the CBSA, the Border Service Agency,
00:05:41.100 and the Coast Guard to help us on the border.
00:05:43.720 It's simple.
00:05:44.180 We need to just, you know, use the organizations we have at our disposal
00:05:48.980 to help deal with border security.
00:05:51.960 And the other article I wrote, which William referenced, Candace had also discussed,
00:05:56.640 was, of course, the terrorists going across the Canada-US border
00:06:00.260 compared to the Mexico-US border.
00:06:03.100 Between 2022 and 2024, yes, it was six times more individuals
00:06:07.660 on the terrorist watch list that were apprehended at the northern border
00:06:11.180 compared to the southern, despite, as you mentioned, Rachel,
00:06:15.220 that we only have 9% of the number of people crossing that border.
00:06:19.980 So, I mean, the fact that we have six-fold amount of people
00:06:22.840 on the terrorist watch list, despite being 9%, I mean, it's a shocking number.
00:06:27.020 And it's little surprise that Trump has come out as strongly as he did.
00:06:31.200 I mean, who would have thought a few months ago that Trump, of all people,
00:06:35.100 would be the person to save Canada from its immigration crisis?
00:06:39.660 It's interesting that Danielle Smith, as you said, she's come out so strongly
00:06:44.400 and said Canada can address the Americans' concerns, and we should do that.
00:06:49.400 We should recognize that they are targeting our economy
00:06:53.520 because they are angry about our lax way of handling the border.
00:06:58.020 And now Danielle Smith even came out after that first minister's meeting
00:07:00.760 and said that she is going to be working with the RCMP and here in Alberta
00:07:05.780 to make sure that that border that Alberta shares with Montana is being patrolled.
00:07:10.940 She's going to ramp up security efforts there.
00:07:13.280 Now, when you think about legals crossing in Canada and the states,
00:07:17.840 you don't really think about Alberta and Montana as a huge problem.
00:07:21.940 That's not really the first area to jump to mind.
00:07:24.020 That being said, I suspect what Danielle Smith is doing is she's signaling to the Americans,
00:07:28.280 we know that she said from the beginning that she is going to be building her own relationship
00:07:32.920 with the Americans because she doesn't trust Justin Trudeau to do it
00:07:35.920 and because Justin Trudeau continuously targets Alberta as seen through its emissions cap.
00:07:41.260 And so, you know, I think she wants the Americans to recognize that even if the rest of Canada
00:07:45.600 and even if Justin Trudeau isn't going to take Trump's concerns seriously, she is.
00:07:51.440 And so even if you don't think about Alberta and Montana as necessarily being a problematic issue,
00:07:55.740 Danielle Smith is signaling to them that it is something she is going to take seriously.
00:07:59.960 She is going to do everything in her power to make sure that Donald Trump's concerns are assaged.
00:08:05.440 And furthermore, I think that she's trying to get an exemption on Alberta energy.
00:08:11.040 I think she's recognizing that we don't have the people in place.
00:08:13.820 Chrystia Freeland, Justin Trudeau, these are not serious people.
00:08:17.480 These are not people that Donald Trump and his team like.
00:08:20.620 They have been very clear about the fact that they do not like Chrystia Freeland.
00:08:23.940 They do not like Justin Trudeau.
00:08:25.380 So I think she is going to do everything in her power to make sure that Alberta energy
00:08:29.360 is exempt from those tariffs.
00:08:31.580 What do you think, William?
00:08:32.260 Do you think that Danielle Smith is trying to get that exemption on Alberta energy?
00:08:36.280 No, I mean, I think she absolutely is.
00:08:38.360 This is someone who has well understood and looked with very clear eyes about the source
00:08:44.800 of Canada and Alberta's wealth and prosperity.
00:08:48.440 And she knows the energy sector plays a vital role in that.
00:08:50.960 And I think she also knows, because she said so, that the perception of Mr. Trudeau and
00:08:56.780 Ms. Freeland by the Trump administration, the incoming Trump administration, is not good.
00:09:01.040 That they have gone out of their way at times to antagonize Mr. Trump, to play the moral
00:09:07.280 superiority card, to try and paint him as someone that they're so much better than.
00:09:13.900 But you also have to understand that Mr. Trump is a very sensitive person when it comes to
00:09:20.760 what people say about him.
00:09:22.180 He does not like criticism.
00:09:23.980 He does not like mockery.
00:09:25.860 You can only ask anybody who's ever done those things when he lashes out at them how much he
00:09:30.740 likes them.
00:09:31.260 And the fact is, is that Mr. Trudeau's own statements, because he cannot help but talk
00:09:36.440 about how much better he is, how much better the liberal government is, how much purer the
00:09:41.660 government is on so many issues, has really painted themselves into a corner.
00:09:45.600 I mean, thankfully, we are hopefully going to see a change in government in Canada at some
00:09:50.700 point in the coming year.
00:09:51.940 And maybe Mr. Pagliavra will have a better chance negotiating with Mr. Trump.
00:09:56.800 At least there won't be that personal animosity.
00:09:58.800 Um, and frankly, you have to wonder just how up, uh, the, the tired Trudeau government is
00:10:06.020 to a hard negotiation with a freshly elected U.S. administration chomping at the bit to
00:10:12.100 try and make some changes.
00:10:13.300 So, uh, yeah, I think we could be in for some pain.
00:10:16.780 Hopefully, clearer heads prevail, and hopefully we can get a cast of characters on our side
00:10:22.000 who's able to deal more effectively with the people we know we'll be dealing with for
00:10:25.700 the next four years.
00:10:26.500 Part of the reason that we're seeing this tension between Alberta and Ottawa, which admittedly
00:10:33.160 is nothing new, but part of the reason we're seeing this renewed tension right now, Danielle
00:10:38.060 Smith is saying that she wants a Team Canada approach to the threat of tariffs, but it's
00:10:43.360 very difficult for her to have a Team Canada approach because of the way that Justin Trudeau
00:10:47.240 is treating Alberta.
00:10:48.980 And she points to the emissions cap that the Trudeau government wants to push through as
00:10:52.760 an example.
00:10:53.620 And she's saying that it's so short-sighted and that it's making Canada look stupid because
00:10:58.440 the Americans want energy security.
00:11:01.040 So Alberta should be willing to meet that need for energy security that America desires to
00:11:05.720 help Alberta and to help give Canada a, you know, a higher position in negotiating with
00:11:10.480 the Americans.
00:11:11.000 And I know that there has been quite an interesting development to this story.
00:11:15.940 Isaac, why don't you take the lead on this one?
00:11:17.520 Yeah, so we'll remember that Danielle Smith previously called the Liberals' proposed emissions
00:11:25.440 cap a, quote, deranged vendetta, specifically targeting Alberta.
00:11:29.440 And in fact, in her most recent press conference, her and Minister Schultz essentially said, look,
00:11:33.460 we've been trying to work with these guys since before we got an office.
00:11:37.040 We've been telling them, do not do this.
00:11:38.860 You will cripple Canada's economy.
00:11:40.960 But despite their numerous calls, emails, letters, you name it, they have remained unanswered.
00:11:49.800 And long story short, Alberta is taking the very, very strong stance of invoking the Alberta
00:11:56.940 sovereignty within a United Canada Act to counter the emissions cap.
00:12:01.440 This announcement was made this week by Smith, and she was alongside Environment Minister Rebecca
00:12:06.920 Schultz and Minister of Energy Brian Jean.
00:12:09.240 And look, they said, look, you're violating our constitution.
00:12:13.140 We're going to put up this Sovereignty Act to protect our exclusive jurisdiction, which
00:12:18.320 is non-renewable energy sources.
00:12:20.200 We've all seen the reports.
00:12:21.680 I mean, we've discussed these reports at length, the various reports that have showed
00:12:26.280 that this cap will cut up to 2 million barrels of oil per day.
00:12:32.020 It'll slash over 150,000 Canadian jobs.
00:12:35.760 We saw the one report saying that this would cut a trillion dollars between 2030 and 2040
00:12:42.600 from Canada's GDP.
00:12:43.680 I mean, the number trillion is even hard to comprehend.
00:12:47.260 And then there was a report from the Conference Board of Canada as well, showing that each family,
00:12:51.780 every single family in the country will have $419 less a month, which is staggering because
00:12:58.520 we've also seen the CTF's previous reports that the vast majority of Canadians are less
00:13:04.840 than that away from insolvency.
00:13:07.120 So the difference there is really the difference between being bankrupt or not.
00:13:11.120 I mean, how crazy can we get?
00:13:13.740 Yeah, I'm curious.
00:13:14.580 What do you guys think about the Sovereignty Act?
00:13:16.800 Do you think it will actually protect Alberta and completely stop the feds?
00:13:20.760 I mean, we saw in Alberta's press release all the things they plan to do with this cap.
00:13:25.960 It's even a long list to go through.
00:13:27.780 But I think even the interesting thing here, because your question is, is it going to protect
00:13:33.120 Alberta, is really what's atop everyone's mind.
00:13:35.300 OK, let's see how this plays out.
00:13:37.160 The Alberta government is using this to defend Albertans' interests, honestly to defend Canada's
00:13:41.640 interests, and also to protect their own jurisdiction, which is their own resources.
00:13:46.240 Alberta has the right to develop its resources.
00:13:48.700 That is very clearly laid out and enshrined.
00:13:52.480 The one thing that I would say about this is that I feel like because legal proceedings
00:13:58.320 are so lengthy, I can't help but suspect even while the legal proceedings is ongoing and
00:14:04.260 the challenge is ongoing, I would suspect that we would see a change in government.
00:14:08.160 But William, I know you're about to jump in there.
00:14:09.620 What were you going to say?
00:14:10.900 Well, I have to shake my head.
00:14:12.360 What is it with prime ministers whose last name is Trudeau and their absolute obsession with
00:14:18.400 the wrecking the Alberta economy and energy industry?
00:14:21.860 You know what they say?
00:14:22.480 Like father, like son.
00:14:23.860 Well, you've seen it before.
00:14:24.800 You'll see it again.
00:14:25.620 We have the NEP, which absolutely was, you know, a wound to Alberta economically and even
00:14:33.040 socially as people lost their jobs and their homes.
00:14:35.180 And now we've got, you know, Stephen Gilboa, who is really a jumped up eco-radical activist.
00:14:41.020 That's what he is.
00:14:41.820 He wears a suit, but he's more at home hanging off of a structure, protesting whatever nonsense
00:14:47.860 climate thing he's got going on that week.
00:14:50.240 These are the people in charge of federal departments who make serious decisions about
00:14:55.340 our economy.
00:14:56.440 And, you know, as Isaac mentioned, a cost per family of $419 a month, that's $5,000 a year
00:15:04.840 taken right out of the pockets of your typical Canadian family.
00:15:08.340 So that's $5,000 less to pay for your mortgage, to pay for a vacation, to buy groceries, to
00:15:13.880 invest in college funds for your kids.
00:15:16.240 And instead, you're paying it for, you know, Mr. Gilboa and Mr. Trudeau's latest eco-insanity
00:15:22.560 that they're foisting onto Canadians.
00:15:24.900 I think, Rachel, you're absolutely right.
00:15:26.420 The goal here, maybe not, isn't necessarily to overturn this legislation.
00:15:30.360 It is to run out the clock on a government that knows it has a limited amount of time to
00:15:35.480 try and get things done.
00:15:36.560 So, again, hopefully before too much damage happens, we can see a change in government
00:15:41.680 and a change in policy.
00:15:43.060 Well, to your point about us all needing to buy, like, our Christmas presents for next
00:15:47.900 year, this year, which you said, I don't know if that was on the show or just us chatting
00:15:51.020 before.
00:15:51.980 But, you know, hopefully before we get to next Christmas, we all, you know, have, we've
00:15:57.380 seen that change in government that you've mentioned.
00:15:58.940 And I think that we're all sort of waiting for.
00:16:00.260 What I said to my audience this week when I was reporting on this, and I myself, I know I
00:16:04.520 feel very unsure that Justin Trudeau and his administration has what it takes to get a
00:16:09.080 negotiation that will not see tariffs on Canada.
00:16:11.860 Maybe they won't be quite so high, but no tariffs at all.
00:16:14.300 It seems quite unlikely.
00:16:15.220 But I said, basically, you know, batten down the hatches, everyone.
00:16:18.100 It's going to be a bumpy ride for a little while.
00:16:20.640 And, you know, it seems to be the case that everyone's thinking it across the board, because
00:16:24.040 to your point, William, you know, Stephen Guibault, he's more at home hanging off someone's
00:16:28.360 house.
00:16:28.820 He's more at home in an orange jumpsuit.
00:16:31.380 These are not serious people.
00:16:33.540 These are not people who are in positions that they are suited for.
00:16:37.880 They do not have the skill set.
00:16:39.440 They do not have the intelligence.
00:16:41.240 It is just putting people, you know, it's like they're just not well suited to it at any
00:16:44.780 time.
00:16:45.060 Like, Melanesia Lee, for example, is, I think, the best example of this.
00:16:49.360 Every time she goes out and speaks, it's like she has nothing of substance to say.
00:16:54.520 You know, I remember even recently she was asked about her plan to how to deal with the
00:16:58.200 Trump administration, how to deal with the threat of tariffs.
00:17:00.240 I have a plan.
00:17:01.300 I'm not going to tell you what it is right now, but I have a plan.
00:17:03.600 Like, that was legitimately her answer.
00:17:05.980 It was just a stunning thing to behold.
00:17:08.520 And, you know, Christopher Eland is another great example of this.
00:17:11.320 Someone who is totally ill-equipped for the job that she is now.
00:17:14.380 And also, someone who can't help herself, but to continuously insult Canadians.
00:17:20.580 There was that instance a little while ago where she told everyone, yeah, you're struggling,
00:17:24.380 you know, with the inflationary crisis that my government has created.
00:17:28.240 Cancel your Disney Plus account.
00:17:29.740 You know, that extra $8 to $12 a month, I don't actually know what it costs.
00:17:33.960 That'll really solve all your problems.
00:17:36.260 Now, the same thing with the local government offering this pennies of tax break, which I think
00:17:40.900 got voted down, but, you know, things are not actually going to do anything for, you
00:17:46.840 know, for Canadians.
00:17:47.680 It's not a matter of nickels and dimes here.
00:17:49.800 That's the issue.
00:17:50.720 And then Chrystia Freeland, most recently, now insulting Canadians once again.
00:17:55.520 I'm sure you guys have seen this clip.
00:17:57.140 We're going to play it for you now.
00:17:57.980 Take a look at Chrystia Freeland and listen very carefully to what she says.
00:18:02.620 People have been talking about a vibe session.
00:18:05.260 And how that is a challenge for the Canadian economy.
00:18:12.000 Okay.
00:18:13.100 So you guys at home, you're struggling to make ends meet.
00:18:16.220 You're struggling to pay rent, get groceries on the table, keep the lights on.
00:18:19.240 That new part for your car that you've been needing, you can't afford it.
00:18:22.580 Can't get that root canal for your son that he needs.
00:18:25.820 No worries.
00:18:26.620 It's just a vibe session.
00:18:27.880 You're just feeling now.
00:18:29.060 There's not actually anything wrong with the economy.
00:18:30.720 The economy, the liberal government's economy, best economy there's ever been.
00:18:34.220 Just you.
00:18:34.720 You're just feeling.
00:18:35.560 It's just a bad vibe.
00:18:36.940 That's all it is.
00:18:38.040 That's what she's telling Canadians.
00:18:42.080 It is actually laughable if it didn't make you want to cry.
00:18:46.880 This is, of course, a government that famously said they would build the economy from the heart out
00:18:51.640 and that the budget would balance itself.
00:18:53.940 And now, as long as we all have good vibes, then why should we be worried about the fact
00:18:59.620 that we can't pay our rents and our mortgages or buy groceries or afford to save for retirement?
00:19:04.900 So we'll all have to work until we literally drop dead in the middle of a workday.
00:19:10.380 You know, just get on with a better vibe.
00:19:12.420 I mean, I'll tell you, if you can find someone more out of touch with the needs and experience
00:19:18.100 of an everyday Canadian than Chrystia Freeland, I would be amazed at who that is.
00:19:22.740 Maybe one of the Kardashians because it's been so long since they've lived a real life.
00:19:27.480 But, you know, again, you have to wonder, who are these people?
00:19:31.940 Who are these people who are in charge of government departments and charged with making massive
00:19:36.960 and important decisions day in and day out that affect the lives of ordinary Canadian families?
00:19:42.560 We have a vibe problem?
00:19:44.340 No, we have a cost of living crisis.
00:19:46.920 We have a housing crisis.
00:19:48.980 We have an immigration crisis.
00:19:51.780 We have a healthcare crisis.
00:19:53.980 None of which can be solved by simply listening to Pharrell's Happy on playlist, on repeat, over and over again.
00:20:01.760 And, you know, I know it's not polite to speak ill of them, but you have to wonder sometimes.
00:20:07.220 These people really are dumbasses.
00:20:08.940 You may need to bleep that, editors, in the post.
00:20:12.860 I think they will.
00:20:13.820 And that was my mistake.
00:20:14.600 I think the HST tax is expected to pass, but the GST, sorry, is expected to pass.
00:20:21.240 But the conservatives will be voting against it.
00:20:23.820 And, you know, the liberals are really trying to raise the alarm on this saying,
00:20:28.180 oh, you know, the conservatives are voting against this tax.
00:20:30.480 They don't want you to have a tax break.
00:20:32.280 I actually, I don't think that line of attack is working anymore.
00:20:35.700 I think that it worked against the conservatives for a really, really long time.
00:20:39.620 But Trudeau is so far down in the polls right now, and people are really seeing through him.
00:20:44.700 He's so unpopular.
00:20:46.440 And I think that even, because, yes, it's such an easy thing to say,
00:20:49.960 oh, the conservatives voted against a tax break.
00:20:52.600 I think Canadians recognize that this was a useless tax break
00:20:55.860 that wasn't going to do anything meaningful for their pocket.
00:20:59.240 And, you know, we can live without saving that extra $3 when we go out for dinner.
00:21:04.420 If you're really struggling, you're probably not going out for dinner in the first place.
00:21:09.220 What's your take, Isaac?
00:21:10.960 Yeah, just wanted to speak quickly about the vibe session thing, which was,
00:21:16.420 because I wrote the article on that.
00:21:18.020 I just wanted to say, I listened to the, I think it was 42-minute press conference
00:21:22.860 held by Freeland and two other ministers.
00:21:25.400 And my editors can attest to this.
00:21:28.500 The article took me longer than normal to write,
00:21:31.080 because I was frankly shocked.
00:21:32.880 In this 42-minute conference,
00:21:35.120 almost not one sentence that was said was true.
00:21:39.420 Literally everything they said was just verifiably untrue.
00:21:43.320 They would say things like, oh, Canada has the lowest unemployment in the G7,
00:21:47.380 the best GDP growth in the G7.
00:21:48.960 I mean, the list goes on.
00:21:50.200 But you could check these things in five seconds
00:21:52.500 and tell that they're just frankly not true.
00:21:55.520 So, I mean, it's frustrating that these parliamentarians
00:21:59.220 can just have a conference and lie for the whole thing,
00:22:02.620 and it's all good.
00:22:03.960 But I don't know.
00:22:05.020 As for the GST tax break, what's that going to cost Canadians?
00:22:08.840 Six billion dollars or something?
00:22:11.280 Yeah, not that, I mean, hey, like William said,
00:22:13.660 the budget will balance itself.
00:22:15.040 So, I mean, Justin Trudeau has accumulated over one trillion dollars in debt already
00:22:18.900 during his tenure, which, of course, as we all know,
00:22:21.780 is more than every other prime minister before him combined,
00:22:25.160 which, I mean, just saying that is almost unbelievable.
00:22:28.120 It's truly a shocking statistic.
00:22:30.180 And, hey, it's only going to continue to climb.
00:22:33.160 We've seen everyone's questioning the Liberals
00:22:35.720 because they initially said they were going to have a, what,
00:22:37.360 $40 billion deficit.
00:22:38.860 But now the PBO is saying, are you sure about that?
00:22:41.220 Because I'm looking at the numbers here,
00:22:42.460 and it doesn't look like you're going to be able
00:22:44.320 to have the deficit you promised.
00:22:46.220 It's going to be higher.
00:22:47.440 Surprise, surprise.
00:22:49.780 How much did you say that it was?
00:22:53.000 Canada's dead?
00:22:54.220 Yeah, the deficit that was promised.
00:22:56.160 Oh, I think it was $40.2 billion, right?
00:22:58.720 With billion with a B.
00:23:00.240 With a B.
00:23:01.020 Yes.
00:23:01.220 Sorry, guys.
00:23:03.740 You're not going to have that $40 billion deficit that you promised.
00:23:07.080 It's actually going to be a lot higher.
00:23:08.540 Yeah.
00:23:09.580 All right.
00:23:09.860 We have spent enough time only depressing and anxiety-inducing stories.
00:23:14.200 We've got to end it off with something a bit more humorous.
00:23:17.140 William, I think that you picked that green shirt intentionally today.
00:23:21.680 I am.
00:23:23.520 I better watch out, though, because, you know,
00:23:26.320 if you've been paying any amount of attention on social media for the past week,
00:23:29.780 you probably know that the film version of the musical Wicked appeared on big screens.
00:23:36.220 It's a fun musical, lots of songs, lots of high-energy dancing,
00:23:40.560 and tries to tell a little bit of a backstory, I think,
00:23:43.500 on some of the characters from the original Wizard of Oz movie.
00:23:46.460 But over at the, I want to get their name right, the British Board of Film Classification,
00:23:51.600 a group of people who have never met a fun time that they couldn't find something to wreck it with,
00:23:57.160 they decided that the movie is discriminatory and now has a trigger warning specifically for green-skinned people
00:24:06.380 and persecuted talking animals.
00:24:09.740 And when I saw this story, I actually had to click it to make sure I wasn't reading an Onion or other satirical article.
00:24:17.480 I thought, surely to goodness, we aren't actually concerned about discriminating against green-skinned people and talking animals.
00:24:26.860 But no, lo and behold, that's what this censorious body in England has decided.
00:24:32.140 They want people to know before watching Wicked that if you're green of skin or if you're an animal that can talk,
00:24:39.980 you may be deeply offended by Wicked, the musical on screen.
00:24:44.400 So I just thought that was worth mentioning in the fact that, has the world lost its mind and gone completely crazy?
00:24:53.000 Definitely certain parts of it, the answer is an unqualified yes.
00:24:55.940 We are living in insane times.
00:24:57.840 Well, it certainly has, and the way that we know that is that when you're saying,
00:25:02.880 I initially thought this was like a headline from the Onion or another satirical site,
00:25:06.800 that seems to be happening on the regular now.
00:25:09.680 Basically, you know, at least once a week, if not more often, you're running into a headline,
00:25:15.160 you're like, I gotta double-check this, you're reading, you know, you're clicking on the news site,
00:25:18.840 you're like, something's glitching here, this can't be real.
00:25:21.560 And sure enough, it turns out that it was a real headline.
00:25:24.300 The thing that is just killing me about this whole Wicked thing is,
00:25:27.680 so I had actually never heard of this musical.
00:25:30.940 Apparently, it's like, you know, really popular and all these things.
00:25:34.120 I hadn't heard of it before.
00:25:36.160 Ariana Grande was cast in it.
00:25:37.780 I didn't really realize like how big of a deal it was that they were doing Wicked.
00:25:41.460 And they have pumped out like millions and millions of dollars on the advertising for this
00:25:46.720 to the point where if anyone in the audience has not seen an advertisement for this musical,
00:25:53.880 please let me know in the comment section below because you are like the luckiest person in the entire world.
00:25:59.360 My timeline, no matter which social media platform I'm using,
00:26:02.620 if I'm on X, if I'm on Facebook, if I'm searching the web, if I'm on YouTube,
00:26:07.500 it is filled with all sorts of promotional content for this musical Wicked.
00:26:13.060 You absolutely cannot escape it.
00:26:15.100 Personally, I'm not a very big Ariana Grande fan who was sort of the pop celebrity
00:26:20.280 that was cast as one of the main roles in this movie.
00:26:24.120 See, I know way too much about it because like I've watched some of this advertising content
00:26:28.200 that I actually don't want to watch, but I just, I can't help it.
00:26:30.700 And her and the other lead who plays the green character, you know,
00:26:35.440 they have been doing this sort of insufferable press tour
00:26:38.300 where they cry in every single interview that they do.
00:26:42.840 They'll break down in tears and talk about how important and how meaningful it was.
00:26:46.240 And it's just the most sickening, grotesque thing I've ever witnessed.
00:26:49.200 So you're an, you're actresses.
00:26:51.120 You have the easiest, best life.
00:26:53.520 Put on a smile, do your press interview, talk about how great it was,
00:26:58.160 talk about how everyone should go see the musical and call it a date.
00:27:01.040 Stop with the bloody tears already.
00:27:02.740 It's so annoying to watch.
00:27:04.240 And so they are just getting absolutely raked over the cold to the point that I suspect
00:27:08.420 people like myself, someone, I consider myself a normal person, a normie.
00:27:13.580 I get that nowadays, everyone wants to be weird
00:27:15.420 and they'll use whatever labels they can to show that they're weird
00:27:18.400 because they just want attention.
00:27:19.520 I'm a very normal person.
00:27:21.500 I am not interested in watching this musical
00:27:23.500 because of how insufferable the press tour has been for it.
00:27:26.640 But now that this stupid trigger warning has come out for the movie,
00:27:30.000 I've been put in this difficult position where I like,
00:27:31.960 I almost have to defend the artistic integrity of the movie
00:27:35.200 because the trigger warning is just so annoying.
00:27:37.480 And I suspect that there's other people on the right.
00:27:39.200 We've also been put in sort of this, you know, uncomfortable conundrum
00:27:43.020 where it's like, I hate this musical and everything that the people
00:27:45.700 who are writing it stand for.
00:27:46.880 But also the trigger warning is really over the top.
00:27:49.640 And I want to call it the people who gave the trigger warning.
00:27:52.220 Isaac, do you have any thoughts?
00:27:53.620 I mean, like, have you been seeing all the,
00:27:55.900 my timeline is just filled with stuff about Wicked.
00:27:58.520 And can you even see it in Canada or do you have to go to London?
00:28:01.760 Because I don't even think we can see it here,
00:28:03.280 but I could be totally wrong on that.
00:28:05.400 Yeah, I have a few thoughts.
00:28:07.000 Firstly, I don't know that I've noticed it as much on social media
00:28:10.960 as you may have, Rachel,
00:28:11.940 but I will say every single hockey game I've watched this season
00:28:14.880 has had an advertisement for Wicked,
00:28:17.480 the very ones you described of essentially actresses crying
00:28:20.040 in press conferences.
00:28:21.720 And it's definitely insufferable.
00:28:24.660 Love that stuff.
00:28:25.240 Insufferable.
00:28:26.180 But to be fair to Sportsnet,
00:28:27.620 they also have been showing Alberta's Scrap the Tax,
00:28:30.560 or, sorry, Scrap the Cap ad campaign.
00:28:33.240 Well, hold on.
00:28:34.180 They do got both sides there.
00:28:35.480 It's not that we can say to be fair to them.
00:28:37.480 They get paid a lot of money to run those ads.
00:28:40.120 And I just wanted to tell a quick story
00:28:42.560 to defend green-skinned individuals.
00:28:45.400 I was in Dollarama like a few weeks before Halloween,
00:28:50.980 and I seen this guy walk in, not in a costume.
00:28:53.140 He looked completely normal,
00:28:54.120 aside from the fact that his skin was completely yellowish slash green.
00:29:00.040 And, of course, it's Halloween time,
00:29:01.200 so he could have been in a costume,
00:29:02.640 or maybe he had jaundice.
00:29:04.620 I don't know that I've ever actually seen someone in person with it,
00:29:07.340 but it looked so realistic that it wasn't makeup.
00:29:09.400 So I thought, hmm, maybe that's jaundice,
00:29:12.780 and he's the very person they're trying to defend in this rule, I guess.
00:29:19.540 Okay, so they're trying to defend jaundice individuals.
00:29:22.440 Please then explain the bit about the talking animals.
00:29:25.360 Well, I just had to laugh,
00:29:26.540 because I don't know if maybe I'm older,
00:29:28.580 so this was only for my generation,
00:29:30.420 but there used to be an expression where when people were saying,
00:29:33.100 you know, well, I'm not racist,
00:29:34.740 it doesn't matter if someone's black, white, or purple.
00:29:37.700 And now I think, well, actually,
00:29:40.500 now it turns out that purple, like green,
00:29:43.220 could be a protected category of people.
00:29:45.420 So we may have to now update that example again
00:29:48.220 to say something more relevant.
00:29:50.680 I just have to wonder,
00:29:51.660 don't people have anything better to spend their time,
00:29:54.600 energy, and money on
00:29:55.680 than, you know, trying to say,
00:29:58.000 oh, the poor green-skinned,
00:29:59.500 the nauseous people on a cruise
00:30:02.600 who are green from feeling seasick.
00:30:05.380 You know, that's a protected class of people, too.
00:30:08.580 No, that's the problem with society today,
00:30:11.420 is our lives have become too easy.
00:30:13.820 We are too modernized.
00:30:15.100 A lot of people are not having kids.
00:30:16.600 They have nothing but time.
00:30:17.940 They're so bored with themselves
00:30:19.140 and with their, you know,
00:30:20.380 their meaningless, frivolous lives
00:30:22.360 that they create problems that don't exist
00:30:23.960 to talk about how they can solve them.
00:30:25.760 That is the problem of our society,
00:30:27.440 is people do not have enough work.
00:30:29.160 I definitely believe that to be true.
00:30:30.740 And I actually looked at this stuff
00:30:32.420 while we were talking
00:30:32.980 as I knew it was something shocking.
00:30:34.940 Their advertising budget was $145 million.
00:30:39.500 So they spent $145 million
00:30:42.380 on that miserable, miserable press tour.
00:30:46.580 Yeah, and all it's going to result
00:30:48.220 is people like me
00:30:49.040 are not going to go watch the musical.
00:30:50.840 And does anyone know,
00:30:51.580 do you have to go to London to see it?
00:30:53.660 I feel like that's a William question.
00:30:56.280 I don't think so.
00:30:57.520 I think if it isn't already out everywhere,
00:31:00.080 it will be.
00:31:01.340 Oh, so it's like going to be
00:31:02.360 in the movie theaters here?
00:31:04.060 I believe so.
00:31:05.340 To be honest,
00:31:05.920 I haven't paid that much attention to it either.
00:31:09.340 I was more shocked that Greenskin
00:31:11.500 is apparently now a protected
00:31:13.000 human rights criteria.
00:31:15.400 $145 million would be quite
00:31:16.960 the advertising campaign
00:31:18.180 to just cover a film
00:31:19.700 that is able to be seen in London.
00:31:23.600 Yeah, I feel like if it's a musical,
00:31:26.520 I don't know,
00:31:26.760 I thought maybe that they were actually
00:31:28.000 like doing it in a theater
00:31:29.000 somewhere in London,
00:31:29.900 but I guess it's just like a
00:31:31.340 high school musical movie title.
00:31:33.280 That was a movie.
00:31:35.020 It was a musical.
00:31:36.260 It was on stage.
00:31:37.480 Now it's a movie
00:31:38.260 for everybody to see.
00:31:39.820 But be warned,
00:31:41.160 there are green people
00:31:42.060 and talking animals in it.
00:31:43.540 So cover yourselves accordingly.
00:31:45.440 Don't be too offended.
00:31:47.260 All right, guys,
00:31:47.880 we're going to leave it there for today.
00:31:49.320 Don't forget that everything
00:31:50.220 you heard today
00:31:50.940 was off the record.
00:31:56.760 Do you guys remember
00:32:00.120 like a year ago
00:32:00.940 they redid
00:32:01.940 the Mean Girls movie?
00:32:04.320 So...
00:32:04.520 I do, yeah.
00:32:05.580 ...to see it.
00:32:07.440 And it was like
00:32:08.520 the day that I was going to see it,
00:32:10.120 I realized that
00:32:10.800 I like looked something up
00:32:12.040 and I learned,
00:32:12.540 I was reading an article about it
00:32:13.660 and I was like,
00:32:14.080 oh, it's a musical.
00:32:14.960 I had no idea.
00:32:15.500 Yeah, I mean,
00:32:16.840 the original Mean Girls
00:32:18.180 is kind of a classic,
00:32:19.720 you know,
00:32:19.940 written by Tina Fey,
00:32:21.140 starring the famous
00:32:23.180 and then infamous
00:32:24.060 Lindsay Lohan.
00:32:25.720 And then, you know,
00:32:26.880 to try and remake it,
00:32:28.140 I always think,
00:32:28.940 why wreck a good thing
00:32:30.380 by remaking it?
00:32:31.420 Why don't you just let
00:32:32.260 the original be a thing
00:32:33.860 that people like?
00:32:34.860 And, you know,
00:32:35.680 here's an idea, Hollywood.
00:32:36.920 Come up with a new idea
00:32:38.200 for a movie once in a while.
00:32:45.500 ...
00:33:12.920 ...