Rebel News Podcast


#CPC18 SPECIAL： Scheer vs. Bernier, the Media Party's Rebel obsession & looking ahead to 2019


Summary

Maxime Bernier quit the Conservative Party of Canada on the day before the party's convention in Halifax, Canada, to start his own party. What does that mean for the future of the party and its leadership? And what does it mean for his chances of winning the next election?


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Tonight, The Rebel goes to the Conservative Convention in Halifax.
00:00:04.300 It's August 24th, and you're watching The Ezra LeVant Show.
00:00:13.280 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?
00:00:17.080 There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.
00:00:20.780 You come here once a year with a sign, and you feel morally superior.
00:00:24.120 The only thing I have to say to the government about why I publish it
00:00:27.780 is because it's my bloody right to do so.
00:00:34.500 Welcome from Halifax. What a gorgeous day. A little bit overcast, 26 degrees.
00:00:39.320 We are in town for the Conservative Party Convention.
00:00:42.860 Leader Andrew Scheer started the convention with a bang, not fired from him, but at him by Maxime Bernier.
00:00:50.520 Maxime Bernier lost to Andrew Scheer in the leadership race 15 months ago by about 1%.
00:00:56.060 And Andrew Scheer never managed to absorb Maxime Bernier properly into the party.
00:01:02.360 That really is job one for any new leader in a contest is to do his best to mollify his rivals
00:01:12.260 and, if possible, make them part of the team.
00:01:14.640 I think of Stephen Harper and how he fused Stockwell Day to his team.
00:01:20.280 Of course, you can go further back in time to see how Jean Chrétien took Paul Martin
00:01:24.260 and made him an important asset, at least for 10 years, till their détente fell apart.
00:01:29.360 Unfortunately, Andrew Scheer did not, or could not, or would not do that with Maxime Bernier.
00:01:34.400 And Bernier quit the party the day before the convention,
00:01:37.660 announcing at a press conference in Ottawa that he was going to start his own party.
00:01:42.720 Here, take a quick look.
00:01:43.600 If we want conservative principles to win the bottle of ideas,
00:01:49.480 we have to defend them openly, with passion and with conviction.
00:01:55.200 That is what I want to do.
00:01:58.880 And this is why, as of today, I'm no longer a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.
00:02:06.060 I want to do politics differently.
00:02:10.300 I will find another way to give a voice to millions of Canadians.
00:02:15.340 And I will continue to fight for freedom, responsibility, fairness and respect.
00:02:22.360 Merci.
00:02:23.100 Well, as you know, I am sympathetic to Maxime Bernier for a number of reasons.
00:02:27.160 I find him charming and charismatic.
00:02:29.500 I like the fact that he has courage,
00:02:31.380 especially on the subjects that so many other Conservatives are afraid of,
00:02:35.660 whether it's extreme multiculturalism, open borders, immigration,
00:02:39.680 or, of course, supply management,
00:02:41.780 which is the sanitized name for quotas for Canada's dairy cartel.
00:02:47.180 Maxime did not win, though, and it was not his place to set key policy.
00:02:51.740 He was demoted earlier this year by Andrew Scheer,
00:02:54.280 and it looked like he was heading for a firing,
00:02:57.660 but he fired himself.
00:02:58.900 And my first thought was, that's a bad idea.
00:03:02.840 If your goal was promote your policies,
00:03:05.940 do so within the infrastructure of the party.
00:03:08.120 Do so at the convention.
00:03:09.200 Do so at the policy debates.
00:03:11.220 Do so in the votes for little executives in this writing or that.
00:03:14.780 Put your own people in place
00:03:16.460 and come to terms with the current leader, Andrew Scheer,
00:03:19.860 to be a deputy of some sort,
00:03:22.020 a deputy in charge of Quebec,
00:03:23.960 deputy in charge of dairy cartels or whatever,
00:03:26.840 if you can't, if you can convince him.
00:03:29.540 And how would that be a proposition that Maxime Bernier could lose by?
00:03:36.220 Because if Andrew Scheer won the next election,
00:03:39.560 that would likely rely on a strong showing in Quebec,
00:03:43.600 which would be, to Maxime Bernier's credit,
00:03:45.440 and at the very least, he would be a senior cabinet minister.
00:03:47.500 And if, as many people think,
00:03:49.400 Andrew Scheer will not win the next election scheduled for last year,
00:03:52.620 then Maxime Bernier would be the heir apparent even more so.
00:03:55.840 Right now, he's the obvious only other rival in the party for the leadership.
00:04:00.880 If he spent one year investing in the party,
00:04:03.820 promoting it, promoting its ideas,
00:04:06.680 he would be there to catch the prize when Andrew Scheer drops it.
00:04:10.480 Now, neither of those things will happen.
00:04:12.720 A lot of his policy energy has been taken away from the party.
00:04:15.900 His supporters are disheartened because he's abandoned the party
00:04:18.580 and will split the right.
00:04:20.800 And, of course, the idea of setting up his own party infrastructure
00:04:24.000 is not only a daunting task, but it's a zero-sum game, I put it to you.
00:04:28.060 Every vote he gets will likely be taken away from the Conservative Party.
00:04:31.760 So that's the big headline.
00:04:33.360 There are other little details at this policy convention.
00:04:36.220 Alas, we're not there to cover the trivial minutiae from within the party itself
00:04:41.780 because Andrew Scheer, in his wisdom, has banned the rebel,
00:04:45.900 but only the rebel, from reporting from inside the conference.
00:04:49.200 I've told you about this before.
00:04:50.140 It's really bizarre.
00:04:51.640 We have our disagreements with Andrew Scheer,
00:04:53.640 as we do with Maxime Bernier, as we did with Stephen Harper,
00:04:56.260 as we do with any leader on the right.
00:04:58.540 Obviously, there are far fewer disagreements we have
00:05:00.900 with politicians on the right than we do with those on the left
00:05:03.320 or the weird left like Justin Trudeau.
00:05:06.080 Yet we've never been kicked out of an event by the Liberals.
00:05:08.800 I should say Sheila Gunn-Reed was briefly kicked out
00:05:11.360 of the Alberta legislature by an armed sheriff,
00:05:14.360 but they backed down after the NDP was humiliated for their censorship.
00:05:18.860 Remember this clip?
00:05:19.500 What was the truth of the interpretation?
00:05:24.420 We already spoke to Darcy Henton.
00:05:28.300 He said there should be no problem to come in.
00:05:31.820 Sorry, why is that?
00:05:34.220 Sorry, why?
00:05:35.280 That's a bizarre pattern or precedent or role model
00:05:39.720 for Andrew Scheer to follow.
00:05:41.380 Even more bizarre, given Andrew Scheer's public statements
00:05:44.160 that he deeply, truly cares about freedom of speech.
00:05:47.780 This is a video he put out just this week.
00:05:50.300 I believe freedom of speech is coming under attack
00:05:53.160 because sometimes it is inconvenient to certain people.
00:05:56.720 You know, certain people who have a political agenda
00:05:58.240 don't even want there to be a debate about certain things.
00:06:01.420 Sometimes things are said that others disagree with
00:06:05.920 and sometimes it is maybe offensive or hurts other people's feelings.
00:06:09.360 But that doesn't mean that we can justify that
00:06:12.180 to curtail or limit or infringe upon such a fundamental freedom.
00:06:17.300 It doesn't hurt my feelings particularly much
00:06:19.520 to be kept out from meeting rooms
00:06:21.500 where excruciatingly boring seminars are held.
00:06:25.120 In fact, I put it to you that most members of the party
00:06:27.760 lounge around in the corridors kibitzing with each other.
00:06:30.380 There are some exciting policy moments, debates,
00:06:33.940 and there will be some keynote speeches.
00:06:35.960 But it's more the bizarreness of keeping the rebel out of the conference.
00:06:42.080 It would be akin to the Republican Party banning Fox News
00:06:46.340 because of some trivial disagreement.
00:06:49.280 The excuses are ever-changing.
00:06:51.700 On one time, the party said it's because we criticized them in 2017.
00:06:56.200 Another time, they said it's because we're an activist group.
00:06:59.100 Well, there are 24 activist groups that are registered at the convention.
00:07:03.220 I say we're an activist journalist,
00:07:05.580 but in any event, that excuse doesn't wash.
00:07:08.000 But it's not actually about the excuses.
00:07:10.240 It's about a party that has its priorities wrong.
00:07:14.260 And that's the central thesis of my monologue today
00:07:17.040 that I'm doing on the pier here in Halifax without notes,
00:07:19.800 is that the key job for Andrew Scheer over the past 15 months
00:07:26.140 was to unify the party behind him,
00:07:28.840 a party that he just squeaked into the leadership of
00:07:31.880 with less than 1% margin, or he got 51% rather.
00:07:37.200 That was his key job, and he did not do it.
00:07:39.640 What was bizarre to me about Maxime Bernier's statement
00:07:42.340 at his press conference this week
00:07:43.980 was that Andrew Scheer hadn't even talked to him
00:07:46.060 in well over a week, despite daily eruptions
00:07:48.760 between Bernier and other MPs.
00:07:51.500 I think that Andrew Scheer is risk-averse,
00:07:55.260 and he's passive, and he lacks the kind of courage
00:07:58.340 to make brutal decisions that are sometimes necessary.
00:08:01.300 And when I mean brutal, I mean
00:08:02.400 demanding discipline from his own MPs,
00:08:06.280 hiring, firing, promoting, he lacked the courage
00:08:09.120 to deal with the Bernier matter
00:08:10.760 until Bernier took himself out.
00:08:12.360 I don't think that Andrew Scheer is any stronger.
00:08:15.040 He may have a tighter grip on the Conservative Party today,
00:08:18.080 but it is a smaller Conservative Party.
00:08:21.460 Stephen Harper spent years to unite the right.
00:08:24.340 Andrew Scheer and Maxime Bernier,
00:08:25.820 with their combined errors, have divided the right.
00:08:28.660 But I think the fact that Andrew Scheer
00:08:31.800 has banned the rebel,
00:08:33.060 and the fact that he mishandled Maxime Bernier,
00:08:35.920 and I say again, Bernier made the wrong decision
00:08:38.000 in my mind for several points of view.
00:08:40.720 But the fact that Andrew Scheer let it come to pass,
00:08:43.960 and the fact that he banned us,
00:08:45.820 I believe they are different manifestations
00:08:49.180 of the same problem.
00:08:51.080 They both diagnose the same ailment.
00:08:53.540 And it's that Andrew Scheer
00:08:55.180 is not yet the leader he needs to be.
00:08:59.140 And I want to give you a bizarre example,
00:09:01.800 and it's from the media.
00:09:04.500 Like I say, we're here at the convention.
00:09:06.420 We're meeting hundreds of our fans and friends.
00:09:08.900 We're saying hi to anyone we want.
00:09:11.240 It's a love-in for us,
00:09:12.680 like it was at the last Conservative convention.
00:09:15.060 We're having a hospitality party tonight
00:09:17.940 where we're inviting hundreds of people of RSVP'd.
00:09:20.660 We see MPs, we see senators, we see staff.
00:09:23.680 I'll tell you one quick anecdote
00:09:24.680 before I get to my main point.
00:09:25.840 I bumped into a candidate from the Lower Mainland in BC
00:09:28.940 who said he was getting so much flack
00:09:31.740 from his grassroots members
00:09:32.860 about the ban on the rebel.
00:09:34.800 And he showed me his phone that had all these messages.
00:09:37.300 He said, Ezra, can I please have a selfie picture with you
00:09:40.200 to send to my constituents
00:09:41.720 to prove to them that I don't hate the rebel
00:09:44.420 like Andrew Scheer does?
00:09:45.660 It was a funny exchange.
00:09:47.000 And yes, of course, I did pose with him.
00:09:48.860 Even Andrew Scheer, some of Andrew Scheer's own personal staff
00:09:51.580 had a friendly hello to us
00:09:53.260 and we spoke at great length
00:09:54.460 and they don't understand it either.
00:09:56.060 But I want to show you what's going on.
00:09:58.800 I'm going to read to you from a story
00:10:00.820 in the Globe and Mail that was posted today
00:10:02.460 and it was called by the Globe and Mail a top story.
00:10:06.140 So this wasn't a little trivial story.
00:10:08.160 This was not a little colorful anecdote.
00:10:10.400 The Globe and Mail literally called this a top story
00:10:13.720 and I'm going to read it to you
00:10:15.120 and it goes to both the banning of the rebel
00:10:18.700 and the larger problem in the conservative party.
00:10:21.720 And you tell me if I'm right or wrong.
00:10:23.840 The story was written by one of the Globe and Mail's
00:10:26.780 political columnists,
00:10:27.620 but I really think she's more a gossip columnist.
00:10:29.760 Her name is Laura Stone and here's the headline.
00:10:31.540 You just got to, I love this.
00:10:33.200 Top conservative aide seen speaking to rebel media
00:10:38.080 who are banned from party convention.
00:10:42.180 That's it.
00:10:42.800 It's like, oh, who did you pass a note to in gym class?
00:10:46.580 This is like childish grade school gossip.
00:10:49.080 But let me read a little bit more
00:10:50.060 because I'm coming to my point here.
00:10:53.380 Conservative leader Andrew Scheer's national campaign manager
00:10:56.260 was seen speaking with members of rebel media
00:11:00.500 outside of the party's convention in Halifax,
00:11:02.960 even though the far right website is barred
00:11:05.700 from covering the event for being an activist group.
00:11:09.120 We're not barred from covering the event.
00:11:10.360 We're covering it quite well.
00:11:11.500 We're just barred from coming in their meetings.
00:11:15.140 Hamish Marshall, who will spearhead
00:11:17.560 the conservative party's federal election efforts,
00:11:19.280 was spotted speaking to members of the outlet,
00:11:23.160 known for its anti-Muslim rhetoric,
00:11:25.740 on a restaurant patio
00:11:27.540 as the party's convention kicked off on Thursday.
00:11:30.480 The Globe and Mail was provided
00:11:31.760 with photographs of the interaction.
00:11:34.340 Was it surveillance footage?
00:11:36.140 Did you hire a private eye?
00:11:37.240 We were sitting on a patio.
00:11:41.660 Let me read some more.
00:11:43.340 The right-wing outlet is banned from covering the convention.
00:11:47.220 No, we're not.
00:11:47.700 We're covering it.
00:11:48.320 We're covering it in more fairness and more detail
00:11:51.640 than the Globe is.
00:11:52.740 Banned from covering the convention.
00:11:54.620 But some of its representatives,
00:11:55.880 including founder Ezra Levant,
00:11:57.580 he's terrible,
00:11:59.400 are in Halifax.
00:12:00.900 I have been spotted here.
00:12:02.220 And we'll be hosting a party.
00:12:05.500 That's the worst.
00:12:06.600 Off-site on Friday night,
00:12:07.560 Mr. Marshall was seen speaking with contributor
00:12:10.120 Sheila Gunn-Reed and two others,
00:12:13.420 but not Mr. Levant.
00:12:15.500 This goes on for hundreds and hundreds of words.
00:12:19.800 Quote,
00:12:20.060 we don't give media accreditation to activist groups,
00:12:23.160 Conservative Party spokesman Corey Hahn said.
00:12:25.200 Well,
00:12:25.780 that's just not true.
00:12:27.700 Here's a list of 24 activist groups
00:12:29.540 they've given accreditation to,
00:12:32.480 including a group that promoted
00:12:33.560 the M-103 Islamophobia censorship motion.
00:12:36.720 So,
00:12:37.060 that's just not true.
00:12:38.000 And that's his third excuse in the road.
00:12:40.020 But it's not about the excuses.
00:12:41.880 I'm going to get back to why his excuse
00:12:43.540 is so funny in a minute.
00:12:45.220 Mr. Marshall was once listed
00:12:47.040 as a director of the Conservative News outlet,
00:12:48.620 but has since been removed.
00:12:52.460 No one removed him.
00:12:53.500 He left.
00:12:53.820 He left to go work for Andrew Scheer.
00:12:57.060 And said he was severing ties with the organization.
00:13:00.200 He also shared Toronto office space with the company
00:13:02.400 during the Tory leadership race,
00:13:03.840 although he said he never discussed campaign matters.
00:13:06.320 That's true.
00:13:07.320 When asked why he was speaking with members of the outlet,
00:13:10.740 Mr. Marshall said he simply stopped by to say hello.
00:13:13.620 And they quote him.
00:13:14.220 Ready?
00:13:15.640 I just said hi to somebody on the street,
00:13:17.720 Mr. Marshall told the Globe.
00:13:20.040 When asked if he thinks the group should be able
00:13:21.920 to cover the convention,
00:13:24.080 Mr. Marshall said he's not involved
00:13:27.240 in the media accreditation process.
00:13:30.120 And anyway,
00:13:30.780 I'm not going to go on.
00:13:32.360 It goes on and on and on and on.
00:13:35.380 And this was a top story
00:13:37.800 that Hamish literally said hi to Sheila on the street.
00:13:44.780 This was a top story.
00:13:47.480 Here's why this story makes me laugh
00:13:49.980 and makes me cry at the same time.
00:13:51.640 And here's why this story is more than just a
00:13:53.620 vanity name check of me
00:13:55.120 or just a goofy little colorful anecdote.
00:13:57.760 Here's why this story is important.
00:14:00.260 First of all, it shows the bad faith of the media.
00:14:02.340 This is allegedly Canada's newspaper of record,
00:14:05.720 the Mighty Globe and Mail.
00:14:07.240 And they think a little,
00:14:09.400 hey, hi, hi,
00:14:11.520 on the street between the rebel
00:14:13.080 and our friend,
00:14:15.500 our former director
00:14:16.480 and ally and buddy
00:14:18.580 is a top story.
00:14:22.380 That's fake news at its core.
00:14:24.800 I mean, it is accurate.
00:14:26.640 They did say hi.
00:14:28.000 But to call that a top story,
00:14:30.460 isn't that the definition of fake news?
00:14:32.200 Who's covering
00:14:32.800 the conservative conference better?
00:14:35.800 I grant you,
00:14:36.980 they've got the
00:14:37.620 hey, hi beat covered
00:14:39.160 better than we do.
00:14:40.360 That is correct.
00:14:42.500 The true policies and ideologies,
00:14:44.900 not so much the globe.
00:14:47.060 So they're giving that
00:14:48.040 their top story billing.
00:14:50.900 They're actually not covering news.
00:14:53.300 That is actually not news.
00:14:54.600 That is them attempting to
00:14:57.480 de-platform us,
00:15:00.780 de-person us,
00:15:02.140 make it so that
00:15:03.120 anyone in the party
00:15:04.240 is terrified of saying
00:15:05.700 hello to us.
00:15:07.020 They're going to have to do
00:15:07.840 a lot more top stories
00:15:09.260 because we,
00:15:10.280 yesterday we had dinner
00:15:11.340 outside the convention center
00:15:13.240 just at some Mexican restaurant.
00:15:14.820 I was,
00:15:15.420 I mean, you know me,
00:15:16.200 I like to snack a teeny bit.
00:15:18.040 I was on my feet
00:15:19.100 probably a hundred times.
00:15:20.400 It's the most exercise,
00:15:21.340 that's the first meal
00:15:22.260 I've ever had
00:15:22.880 where I lost weight
00:15:24.100 because I was up and down
00:15:25.440 and up and down
00:15:25.980 and up and down
00:15:26.520 saying hi to a hundred people
00:15:27.640 coming over to say hi.
00:15:28.820 There were even some hugs.
00:15:31.180 That's a top story for you.
00:15:32.300 My point is
00:15:32.960 that is not a real news story.
00:15:36.480 It is not real news
00:15:37.480 that I said hello.
00:15:38.640 It's an attempt
00:15:39.560 to terrify politically
00:15:41.460 the conservative party
00:15:43.320 from talking to people
00:15:44.860 who they think
00:15:45.760 have the wrong opinions.
00:15:46.800 It is not news
00:15:50.100 that Sheila said hi to Hamish.
00:15:52.600 They're former colleagues,
00:15:53.800 they're friendly enough,
00:15:55.300 there's no,
00:15:55.980 even if they weren't,
00:15:57.140 it's civil to say hello.
00:15:58.580 It is not a top news story
00:16:01.100 to report that,
00:16:02.580 but the purpose was not news,
00:16:04.500 the purpose was to say
00:16:05.700 we're watching you conservatives
00:16:07.300 and if you dare consort with
00:16:09.220 A,
00:16:09.540 our competitors at the rebel
00:16:11.420 and B,
00:16:13.120 our ideological competitors,
00:16:15.760 we will shame you
00:16:17.060 and name you.
00:16:18.460 So it's not even news.
00:16:19.680 But here's the second point
00:16:20.680 and this goes
00:16:21.380 to the problem
00:16:22.240 with Andrew Scheer.
00:16:24.400 Why did Corey Hahn,
00:16:26.800 senior communications staffer,
00:16:28.720 and why did Hamish Marshall himself
00:16:30.480 feel the need
00:16:31.620 to dignify
00:16:32.720 this stupid fake news story
00:16:35.720 with an answer
00:16:36.580 at all?
00:16:38.400 Why wasn't their answer
00:16:40.040 F off?
00:16:42.700 Or if they were being
00:16:43.580 more communications professionals,
00:16:45.900 that's a ridiculous question,
00:16:48.140 I'm busy,
00:16:49.340 or probably the best answer
00:16:50.620 is not even to reply.
00:16:52.360 Why did they feel the need
00:16:54.020 to answer such an obviously
00:16:56.380 bad faith,
00:16:58.000 non-news,
00:16:59.500 gossip,
00:17:00.620 innuendo question?
00:17:02.960 Why did they feel the need
00:17:04.260 to come up with talking points
00:17:06.620 and to justify,
00:17:08.840 well,
00:17:09.260 we kept them out
00:17:10.220 because they're an activist
00:17:11.260 or I swear I was only saying hi,
00:17:13.460 please don't be mad at me?
00:17:15.020 Why did Hamish,
00:17:16.500 who's a friend of mine,
00:17:17.620 and Corey,
00:17:18.440 who I don't know well,
00:17:19.900 why did they feel
00:17:21.700 the need to oblige
00:17:23.220 such a stupid question
00:17:24.980 from the media party?
00:17:26.320 And therein,
00:17:27.620 you find Andrew Scheer's
00:17:29.220 chief problem.
00:17:32.920 Andrew Scheer's worst enemy
00:17:34.960 in the 2019 election
00:17:37.160 will not be Justin Trudeau,
00:17:40.020 possibly the laziest man
00:17:41.860 in Canadian politics,
00:17:43.400 possibly the least articulate man
00:17:46.500 when he's off a teleprompter,
00:17:48.760 possibly the most thin-skinned man.
00:17:50.700 You've seen him lash out
00:17:51.860 at that grandma
00:17:53.400 the other week in Quebec.
00:17:54.800 You've seen him swear
00:17:55.880 in Parliament.
00:17:56.840 You've seen him elbow an MP.
00:17:58.900 Justin Trudeau himself
00:18:01.580 is actually a weak candidate
00:18:04.080 and his shtick,
00:18:05.660 dancing,
00:18:06.580 the selfies,
00:18:07.400 the costume,
00:18:08.100 is wearing thin on Canadians.
00:18:10.920 Justin Trudeau
00:18:12.120 is not Andrew Scheer's opponent.
00:18:15.300 The media party is.
00:18:17.840 That's what Maxime Bernier
00:18:19.680 got right last week,
00:18:21.540 calling CBC fake news,
00:18:23.060 calling Rosemary Barton despicable.
00:18:24.600 And that's what Hamish and Corey
00:18:26.780 got wrong
00:18:27.760 in this stupid front-page non-story
00:18:30.800 in the Globe and Mail.
00:18:32.180 Sheila said hi,
00:18:33.380 and Hamish said hey.
00:18:34.640 Oh, I swear,
00:18:35.660 I swear that's all we said.
00:18:37.180 I'm so sorry, master.
00:18:38.720 I won't do it again.
00:18:41.140 Anyone who submits
00:18:43.200 to the Globe and Mail,
00:18:44.180 the CBC,
00:18:44.940 the CTV,
00:18:45.740 or the rest of the media party
00:18:47.300 is assuring that they will not
00:18:49.640 win the next election.
00:18:50.740 Because not only are they
00:18:52.080 giving oxygen to those liars
00:18:54.520 in the mainstream media.
00:18:56.380 They're allowing their mind
00:18:57.780 to be colonized by them,
00:18:59.240 and they're allowing
00:19:00.080 their friends and enemies,
00:19:01.360 their causes and platforms,
00:19:02.780 to be governed by them.
00:19:04.700 The day that Hamish
00:19:06.480 and Corey
00:19:07.300 and Andrew Scheer himself
00:19:09.540 can look the CBC in the eyes,
00:19:12.040 can look the Globe and Mail
00:19:13.200 in the eyes,
00:19:14.020 and say,
00:19:14.900 go to hell,
00:19:16.140 you fake news liars,
00:19:18.700 is the first step
00:19:20.380 on their victory
00:19:21.660 in the election.
00:19:23.060 And if they continue
00:19:24.480 to hide under the bed
00:19:25.900 and do what they're told,
00:19:28.320 they will lose.
00:19:31.780 Covering the Conservative Convention
00:19:33.580 from Halifax,
00:19:35.360 I'm Ezra Levan,
00:19:36.520 and you stay with us
00:19:37.500 because we've got a couple
00:19:38.220 of interesting interviews
00:19:39.660 by our Sheila Gunn-Reid.
00:19:41.140 More ahead.
00:19:41.560 Thank you.
00:19:41.620 Thank you.
00:19:41.680 Thank you.
00:19:41.740 Thank you.
00:19:41.800 Thank you.
00:19:41.880 Thank you.
00:19:42.740 Thank you.
00:19:43.740 Thank you.
00:19:43.800 Thank you.
00:19:43.820 Thank you.
00:19:43.840 Thank you.
00:19:50.380 Well, we're out here
00:20:00.680 in Halifax
00:20:01.480 on the Atlantic coast,
00:20:02.800 but we have lots of friends
00:20:04.400 from the entire country here,
00:20:06.200 especially from the West.
00:20:07.900 Sheila caught up
00:20:08.540 with Prem Singh
00:20:09.400 to see what she's up to
00:20:11.240 in terms of grassroots
00:20:12.540 conservative activism.
00:20:14.220 So joining me right now
00:20:15.520 is Alberta conservative activist
00:20:17.540 Prem Singh.
00:20:18.240 Now, Prem,
00:20:18.660 you're a long-time
00:20:20.040 conservative activist,
00:20:21.020 but you're not just an activist.
00:20:22.000 You're sort of starting
00:20:23.900 influential movements
00:20:25.600 where you see a void.
00:20:26.660 For example,
00:20:27.680 you helped found
00:20:28.600 Alberta Can't Wait,
00:20:30.320 which started
00:20:31.340 the Jason Kenney juggernaut.
00:20:32.880 You started having
00:20:33.740 those conversations
00:20:34.520 before even he did,
00:20:36.540 before we knew
00:20:37.060 that he would be the guy.
00:20:38.460 And you also were influential
00:20:40.900 in starting Save Calgary,
00:20:42.900 which fills an amazing void
00:20:46.520 where I think there's
00:20:48.960 a real deficit
00:20:49.660 of accountability
00:20:50.860 in municipal politics,
00:20:52.240 where conservatives
00:20:53.380 have sort of
00:20:54.120 walked off the field.
00:20:56.160 But you're starting
00:20:56.860 something new.
00:20:58.340 Yes, we are.
00:20:59.120 What we learned
00:20:59.900 from Alberta Can't Wait
00:21:01.060 was, look,
00:21:03.060 both the party
00:21:04.100 and the party establishments
00:21:05.760 were against unity.
00:21:07.640 And sometimes you have to go
00:21:09.660 against what establishment
00:21:11.260 wants,
00:21:12.540 and you have to break that up.
00:21:13.900 And that's what we did.
00:21:15.460 We facilitated
00:21:16.560 and started
00:21:17.260 that structural change.
00:21:19.480 And now we have the UCP.
00:21:21.640 And with respect
00:21:22.680 to Save Calgary,
00:21:23.580 yeah, it's a municipal
00:21:24.840 grassroots watchdog.
00:21:26.820 And so I thought
00:21:27.920 what we need to do
00:21:28.860 is have a federal
00:21:30.020 grassroots movement.
00:21:31.680 And we're a pretty diverse bunch.
00:21:33.580 I'm the oldest person.
00:21:35.760 And it's our job
00:21:38.520 and what we'd like to do
00:21:39.780 is train young people.
00:21:42.340 And we had our initial
00:21:43.420 training program
00:21:44.340 where it was very,
00:21:46.280 we trained them
00:21:47.360 in political theory
00:21:48.440 but also practical training.
00:21:50.480 They've learned
00:21:50.960 about NationBuilder.
00:21:52.420 They're all
00:21:52.880 NationBuilder certified.
00:21:54.620 They've learned
00:21:55.360 about social media
00:21:56.340 and just advocacy.
00:21:58.540 What we would like to do
00:21:59.580 is educate Canadians
00:22:00.860 across the board,
00:22:01.860 regardless of their partisanship,
00:22:03.700 on issues that they do
00:22:05.480 want to learn
00:22:06.300 and talk about.
00:22:07.460 Education,
00:22:08.340 electricity,
00:22:08.940 the energy,
00:22:11.920 our resources,
00:22:13.620 our forestry.
00:22:14.800 All of these issues
00:22:15.860 talk about borders,
00:22:16.980 talk about immigration,
00:22:18.100 all the issues
00:22:18.760 that people on the street,
00:22:20.580 everyday people,
00:22:21.360 want to talk about.
00:22:23.020 This whole,
00:22:23.500 you know,
00:22:23.700 maybe our Prime Minister
00:22:24.560 is half right
00:22:25.460 when he says
00:22:26.100 diversity is strength
00:22:27.300 but he's missing
00:22:28.420 the boat on something.
00:22:29.760 It's diversity of thoughts
00:22:31.460 is our strength.
00:22:32.700 And we can't suppress ideas
00:22:33.940 and we can't surround
00:22:36.140 our parties
00:22:36.720 with sycophants.
00:22:38.040 We need to be able
00:22:38.960 to have new ideas,
00:22:40.160 fresh ideas,
00:22:40.960 break up the establishment,
00:22:42.700 let the next generation
00:22:43.860 come in.
00:22:44.840 And these politicians
00:22:45.740 and our parties,
00:22:47.160 they don't,
00:22:48.400 they work for us.
00:22:50.360 And we seem to have it
00:22:51.720 the opposite.
00:22:52.940 So it's up to us
00:22:53.880 as grassroots
00:22:54.560 to unite,
00:22:55.920 become educated,
00:22:56.980 become engaged.
00:22:57.900 It doesn't matter
00:22:58.540 what party
00:22:59.680 or what stripe you are,
00:23:01.300 but we all have to get active
00:23:02.900 and be engaged
00:23:04.480 and hold our politicians
00:23:05.760 and these parties
00:23:06.620 to account.
00:23:07.740 I do think
00:23:08.460 that when you have
00:23:09.180 fresh new ideas
00:23:11.380 and you're able
00:23:11.920 to talk about them
00:23:12.940 instead of suppressing them,
00:23:14.660 the best always rises
00:23:15.980 to the top.
00:23:16.860 And that's how
00:23:17.440 we're going to be able
00:23:18.180 to create change
00:23:19.200 and have bold ideas
00:23:20.660 and bold policies.
00:23:22.440 So we're also doing
00:23:23.600 a speaker series
00:23:24.820 and we'll have special guests
00:23:26.660 from across the world.
00:23:28.340 We're excited
00:23:29.020 about our first one.
00:23:30.480 It's going to be
00:23:31.180 Tucker Carlson
00:23:32.020 on September 22nd.
00:23:33.660 So we're pretty excited
00:23:35.020 and we will have guests
00:23:36.120 from all across the spectrum.
00:23:38.240 We'll probably have
00:23:39.400 four a year.
00:23:41.300 And yes,
00:23:42.100 our biggest thing in,
00:23:43.980 sorry,
00:23:44.420 I forgot to mention
00:23:45.120 what it's called,
00:23:46.260 Canadians for Democracy
00:23:47.440 and Prosperity.
00:23:48.500 Because I do believe
00:23:49.640 that Canadians
00:23:50.360 from all walks of life
00:23:52.280 all want democracy
00:23:54.480 and we all want prosperity
00:23:56.180 for everybody.
00:23:57.100 So we think it's important
00:24:00.560 to have the grassroots involved
00:24:02.520 and I think it's important
00:24:03.940 for this to be
00:24:04.740 a self-sustaining endeavor.
00:24:06.820 It might take us
00:24:07.580 a bit of time
00:24:08.180 to get there,
00:24:08.920 but that is our goal.
00:24:10.740 Now,
00:24:11.740 what I really hope
00:24:13.460 that your organization does
00:24:14.900 is it,
00:24:15.940 as a conservative,
00:24:17.540 I hope it changes
00:24:18.600 the fact
00:24:19.260 that within this convention
00:24:20.840 today,
00:24:21.880 there are
00:24:22.460 the official
00:24:23.360 conservative types
00:24:24.760 that think
00:24:25.820 that there are things
00:24:26.380 that we cannot talk about,
00:24:27.820 that we simply
00:24:28.580 cannot talk about,
00:24:29.680 like immigration levels,
00:24:31.780 like supply management,
00:24:34.680 to punch back
00:24:36.760 against this idea
00:24:37.460 that diversity of color
00:24:39.440 is our strength
00:24:40.420 as opposed to
00:24:41.000 diversity of ideas.
00:24:42.920 Do you think
00:24:43.520 that you'll be able
00:24:44.160 to sort of reset
00:24:46.180 the official conservative
00:24:48.000 types when you do this?
00:24:48.900 Because you do have
00:24:49.860 a history of sort of
00:24:51.120 forcing official conservatives
00:24:53.060 to hit the reset button.
00:24:54.760 That is our goal.
00:24:56.820 I don't think
00:24:57.480 that we need to be afraid
00:24:58.680 to speak our mind
00:25:00.140 within reason.
00:25:01.600 We're not out here
00:25:02.900 just because I have
00:25:04.040 a different thought
00:25:04.680 than you.
00:25:05.220 That doesn't make me
00:25:06.060 a racist or a xenophobe
00:25:07.560 or everything else
00:25:08.640 that they call us.
00:25:08.860 No, Prem,
00:25:09.280 you're a white supremacist.
00:25:10.940 So, you know,
00:25:12.060 we have to get over
00:25:13.080 that hump.
00:25:13.700 We have to stop
00:25:14.460 apologizing and being afraid
00:25:16.180 because right now
00:25:17.420 we've created
00:25:18.340 our language
00:25:19.200 as a minefield
00:25:20.100 and whatever we say,
00:25:21.500 we're afraid
00:25:22.160 that we're going to
00:25:22.820 say something wrong
00:25:23.820 that's going to upset somebody
00:25:25.200 and then we're apologizing.
00:25:26.840 We need to stop
00:25:27.560 as Canadians apologizing.
00:25:29.280 Stop apologizing
00:25:30.160 for our resources.
00:25:32.160 We need to stand up
00:25:33.000 for ourselves.
00:25:34.180 We have to,
00:25:35.860 we're at a crossroads,
00:25:36.940 our country is.
00:25:38.400 And we do have
00:25:39.660 to make a change
00:25:40.820 if we are going
00:25:41.860 to be competitive
00:25:42.820 in the world
00:25:43.660 and we have to look out
00:25:46.460 for our own security,
00:25:47.740 our own economy.
00:25:48.800 We can't leave it up
00:25:49.760 to the politicians.
00:25:50.520 We have to demand
00:25:51.960 these things.
00:25:53.700 So, Prem,
00:25:54.420 how do people
00:25:55.080 get in touch with you?
00:25:56.300 How do they support
00:25:57.860 your new endeavor
00:25:58.620 and how do they get
00:25:59.760 to go to Tucker Carlson?
00:26:01.340 Well, they could email us
00:26:02.800 at info
00:26:03.460 at democracy
00:26:04.440 and prosperity
00:26:05.320 dot ca
00:26:06.160 and otherwise
00:26:07.700 you can get a hold
00:26:08.600 of me through
00:26:09.120 Alberta Can't Wait
00:26:09.920 or Save Calgary.
00:26:11.340 Great.
00:26:11.660 Thanks so much, Prem.
00:26:12.420 Good luck.
00:26:13.160 Thank you.
00:26:13.600 Thank you.
00:26:13.640 Thank you.
00:26:14.640 Thank you.
00:26:15.640 Thank you.
00:26:16.640 Thank you.
00:26:17.640 Thank you.
00:26:18.640 Thank you.
00:26:19.640 Thank you.
00:26:20.500 Well, one of the policy issues
00:26:26.240 that has divided
00:26:27.140 the Conservative Party
00:26:28.380 and in fact
00:26:28.880 was the chief issue
00:26:30.200 cited by Maxime Bernier
00:26:31.600 when he quit the party
00:26:32.820 was Andrew Scheer's support
00:26:34.740 for the dairy cartel
00:26:36.120 in Canada
00:26:36.660 which has a sanitized name
00:26:38.660 and goes by
00:26:39.180 Supply Management.
00:26:40.640 Sheila Gunn-Reed
00:26:41.300 spoke with Clinton DeVoe
00:26:42.640 about that issue.
00:26:44.000 It's the very first afternoon
00:26:46.080 of the Conservative Party
00:26:47.540 convention here in Halifax
00:26:48.940 and I found someone
00:26:50.300 who wants to end
00:26:51.200 supply management.
00:26:53.080 Where are you from
00:26:54.120 and why can't you
00:26:55.520 stand supply management?
00:26:57.380 Well, I'm from
00:26:58.240 the Halifax area
00:26:59.180 and I split my time
00:27:01.340 between Ottawa
00:27:02.000 and Halifax for work
00:27:03.180 and I'm not connected
00:27:04.500 in politics
00:27:05.120 as far as a career goes.
00:27:07.820 But why
00:27:08.680 are you against
00:27:10.220 supply management?
00:27:11.260 So I'm opposed
00:27:12.160 to supply management
00:27:13.000 because it charges
00:27:14.340 as a consumer
00:27:15.460 where we face
00:27:16.100 inflated prices
00:27:17.320 on basic food items
00:27:18.960 like eggs,
00:27:19.960 milk,
00:27:20.560 poultry.
00:27:21.560 It limits our choice
00:27:23.480 that's available
00:27:24.340 on the grocery shelf
00:27:25.740 and for those reasons
00:27:28.060 it's just not conservative.
00:27:29.660 It's a terrible policy
00:27:31.040 that was brought in
00:27:32.080 by Pierre Elliott Trudeau
00:27:33.560 in 1972
00:27:34.900 and no real conservative
00:27:37.340 in good conscience
00:27:38.940 can support supply management.
00:27:41.320 So I see that you've been
00:27:42.800 giving out buttons.
00:27:43.900 What has the reception
00:27:45.380 been like for you
00:27:47.120 as you stand outside
00:27:48.000 this conference
00:27:48.740 where it is official policy
00:27:51.160 of the Conservative Party
00:27:52.240 to support supply management?
00:27:54.740 Well, the reception
00:27:55.280 has been absolutely phenomenal.
00:27:56.920 So there's two types
00:27:58.360 of reception.
00:27:59.540 The first one is from
00:28:00.280 the general membership
00:28:01.360 of the party.
00:28:02.360 I've actually emptied out
00:28:03.800 three bags like this one.
00:28:06.820 This is my fourth one.
00:28:08.260 And we're just a couple
00:28:09.040 hours into this.
00:28:09.660 We're just a couple
00:28:10.200 hours into this
00:28:11.140 and anyone that's connected
00:28:13.080 to the party structure
00:28:14.680 I like to call
00:28:15.560 the elites of the party
00:28:16.860 they just snub your nose
00:28:19.380 and don't want to look
00:28:20.880 at you and ignore you.
00:28:22.780 And what about
00:28:23.060 the regular people?
00:28:24.220 Regular people love it.
00:28:25.540 They've been buying
00:28:26.220 they've been
00:28:26.660 not buying
00:28:27.200 but they've been
00:28:27.500 taking the buttons
00:28:28.180 they've been
00:28:28.580 putting them on
00:28:29.340 their jackets
00:28:29.840 their backpacks
00:28:30.760 just running around
00:28:32.320 with them.
00:28:32.640 They really really love them.
00:28:34.000 So there is a motion
00:28:35.340 about supply management
00:28:37.080 that may or may not
00:28:38.840 make it to the floor.
00:28:39.940 What have you heard
00:28:41.700 about what's going on
00:28:42.800 with that motion?
00:28:44.140 Well the feeling
00:28:44.780 that I've been hearing
00:28:45.560 from the regular members
00:28:46.580 is that the process
00:28:47.700 unfortunately
00:28:48.580 sounds like it might
00:28:50.100 be a fixed process
00:28:51.420 because they only allow
00:28:53.400 10 policy resolutions
00:28:55.580 to come to the floor
00:28:57.380 and supply management
00:28:59.020 is number 26
00:29:00.220 or 27 on the list
00:29:01.900 and they give you
00:29:03.040 a maximum of 3 hours
00:29:04.740 to debate policy
00:29:05.960 which means there's
00:29:07.260 a good chance
00:29:08.000 that the clock
00:29:08.660 will be run out
00:29:09.380 and supply management
00:29:10.700 won't even make it
00:29:11.760 to the floor.
00:29:13.360 So we just heard
00:29:14.680 this afternoon
00:29:15.320 that Max Bernier
00:29:16.780 the biggest
00:29:18.420 I guess
00:29:20.540 the biggest activist
00:29:21.420 within caucus
00:29:22.420 against supply management
00:29:24.400 has left
00:29:25.480 the conservative caucus
00:29:26.640 and it sounds like
00:29:28.240 so far
00:29:28.580 he'll sit as an independent.
00:29:30.660 What effect
00:29:31.280 do you think
00:29:31.620 that's going to have
00:29:32.640 on the movement
00:29:33.740 both within the party
00:29:35.520 and outside the party
00:29:36.720 to end supply management?
00:29:38.880 Well I think
00:29:39.760 that the grassroots
00:29:40.440 membership
00:29:41.040 is ready to end
00:29:42.500 supply management
00:29:43.440 the problem is
00:29:44.420 is the party
00:29:45.100 for whatever reason
00:29:46.460 doesn't want to end it
00:29:47.940 and what I see
00:29:49.440 the effect of that
00:29:50.520 is it's going to
00:29:51.360 tear the party apart
00:29:52.560 and I think that
00:29:53.960 it's becoming
00:29:54.660 more and more likely
00:29:56.480 that we are going
00:29:57.840 to see a new
00:29:59.020 conservative party
00:30:01.000 that's most likely
00:30:02.940 going to be created
00:30:04.040 as more and more members
00:30:05.520 from Newfoundland
00:30:06.360 to British Columbia
00:30:07.340 give up
00:30:08.700 if the party's
00:30:09.580 not prepared
00:30:10.220 to move
00:30:10.740 on these basic
00:30:11.620 conservative ideas.
00:30:13.380 You know
00:30:13.520 as an Albertan
00:30:14.560 I would really hate
00:30:15.220 to see that
00:30:15.780 we just spent
00:30:16.420 10 years
00:30:16.920 wandering in the wilderness
00:30:17.840 with a fractured
00:30:18.720 conservative party
00:30:19.840 do you feel like
00:30:20.940 there was something
00:30:21.340 that could have been
00:30:21.900 done before today
00:30:23.220 to prevent
00:30:24.520 supply management
00:30:26.720 from becoming
00:30:27.320 such a divisive
00:30:28.540 thing
00:30:29.520 both within caucus
00:30:31.160 but even in our
00:30:32.560 trade deals
00:30:33.160 with our friends
00:30:33.760 in the United States?
00:30:35.260 Most definitely
00:30:36.040 so in regards
00:30:37.220 to the United States
00:30:38.120 they've made it
00:30:38.820 very clear
00:30:39.740 that unless Canada
00:30:41.140 phases out
00:30:42.280 supply management
00:30:43.120 over five years
00:30:44.220 there will be
00:30:45.020 no NAFTA deal
00:30:45.880 and you're from Alberta
00:30:46.980 Alberta and Saskatchewan's
00:30:48.920 energy business
00:30:49.760 depends on trade
00:30:50.900 if we start seeing
00:30:52.540 a tightening of the border
00:30:53.580 and trade agreements
00:30:54.720 being thrown out
00:30:55.520 the window
00:30:55.940 because of egg
00:30:56.900 and milk farmers
00:30:57.840 that is going to
00:30:59.140 do great harm
00:31:00.060 to Saskatchewan
00:31:01.660 and Alberta's
00:31:02.320 energy sector
00:31:03.140 most of the
00:31:04.200 membership of the
00:31:05.080 conservative party
00:31:06.040 as far as elected
00:31:06.920 representatives
00:31:07.580 not all
00:31:09.180 but a lot of them
00:31:09.780 are cowards
00:31:10.420 and they're afraid
00:31:11.180 to speak out
00:31:12.000 and unfortunately
00:31:13.620 the membership
00:31:14.920 has to accept
00:31:16.540 a party that wants
00:31:17.420 to give corporate
00:31:18.180 welfare to General Motors
00:31:19.920 corporate welfare
00:31:21.180 to Bombardier
00:31:22.140 wants to protect
00:31:23.220 a cartel
00:31:23.820 like supply management
00:31:24.920 they want to
00:31:25.700 endanger things
00:31:26.620 like NAFTA
00:31:27.320 so if you're a
00:31:28.400 small government
00:31:29.360 free market
00:31:29.980 conservative
00:31:30.500 it doesn't leave
00:31:31.680 you with a lot
00:31:32.280 of places
00:31:32.920 to call a home
00:31:33.760 with the three
00:31:34.740 old line parties
00:31:35.740 and so it might
00:31:36.940 be time to start
00:31:37.660 looking at creating
00:31:38.500 a new party
00:31:39.240 if on a policy
00:31:40.680 front there's
00:31:41.200 nowhere to call
00:31:41.860 home
00:31:42.200 you know I
00:31:43.440 I understand
00:31:45.280 your point
00:31:46.140 but I hope
00:31:47.680 that there are
00:31:48.100 enough conservative
00:31:48.980 members from within
00:31:50.140 and maybe some
00:31:51.740 conservative party
00:31:52.820 MPs that are
00:31:53.700 emboldened
00:31:54.400 enough to listen
00:31:56.000 to the grassroots
00:31:56.840 to make some
00:31:58.300 change
00:31:58.860 and I want to
00:31:59.460 thank you so much
00:32:00.100 for taking the
00:32:00.640 time to discuss
00:32:01.360 supply management
00:32:02.240 with me today
00:32:02.860 thank you very much
00:32:04.100 I appreciate that