Rebel News Podcast - DAVID MENZIES ｜ Vancouver's Convoy Protest; La Crete Is COVID-free

00:00:00.000 Hello, Rebels. You're listening to a free audio-only recording of my show, Rebel Roundup.

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00:01:09.580 And now, enjoy this free audio-only version of my show.

00:01:14.460 Welcome to Rebel Roundup, ladies and gentlemen, and the rest of you,

00:01:32.460 in which we look back at some of the very best commentaries of the week by your favorite Rebels.

00:01:37.640 I'm your host, David Menzies.

00:01:39.460 Well, there were dueling demonstrations in Vancouver last Saturday.

00:01:43.920 In one corner, there were the members of the Freedom Convoy and their supporters.

00:01:48.460 In the other corner were the Antifa types who actually support lockdowns.

00:01:54.880 Try to guess which group was civil and which group was profane.

00:01:59.980 Drea Humphrey has the scoop.

00:02:01.900 Now, the pandemic is over in Little La Crete, situated in northwest Alberta.

00:02:08.860 And a major reason why it's over is that the people of La Crete ignored the advice of health bureaucrats.

00:02:16.320 Say what?

00:02:17.440 Sheila Gunn-Reed will have all the nitty-gritty details. 0.98

00:02:21.460 And letters, we get your letters.

00:02:22.940 We get them every minute of every day.

00:02:24.680 And you had plenty to say about the fact that 90% of downtown Ottawa restaurants were closed last weekend

00:02:32.900 out of fear that the Freedom Convoy demonstrators made for a health and safety concern.

00:02:40.100 Well, guess what?

00:02:40.960 Those restaurants that did remain open racked up record sales without suffering any incidents whatsoever.

00:02:48.040 So much for the fake news narrative the demonstrators are to blame for certain downtown Ottawa businesses taking a financial hit.

00:02:57.980 It's actually a self-inflicted wound.

00:03:00.340 Those are your Rebels.

00:03:01.500 Now, let's round them up.

00:03:10.780 Get out of here! 1.00

00:03:14.960 You f***ing racist! 1.00

00:03:16.220 Why are you supremacist? 1.00

00:03:17.280 Sir, were you just assaulted by this individual?

00:03:21.600 What happened? 0.52

00:03:22.220 She banged her drum in my head, calling me a white supremacist. 0.83

00:03:26.100 You're assaulting people, kicking vehicles, and they're just trying to go to a parking lot. 0.55

00:03:30.680 Why don't you guys just move, man?

00:03:31.260 You guys are making this not peaceful.

00:03:32.880 Just let this guy go.

00:03:34.000 Move.

00:03:36.020 Hi, guys.

00:03:36.900 How are you?

00:03:37.900 Oh, get lost.

00:03:38.700 How are you?

00:03:39.560 Oh! 0.99

00:03:40.420 Get f***ing lost. 0.97

00:03:42.400 Oh, that's not very nice. 0.98

00:03:43.340 Come back. 0.99

00:03:44.360 F-racist. 1.00

00:03:45.280 Look how mad they are. 0.99

00:03:59.180 They think they care about hospitals, but this person can't even keep two meters away from me.

00:04:04.720 Like, I understand two meters is hard to understand, but yeah, so yeah, that's a good thing.

00:04:10.000 Second of all, look at these double-standers.

00:04:11.960 They are crybabies who are like, oh, honking is like audio terrorism.

00:04:16.280 But then there were like, a few minutes ago, there's more people, and they were provoking honking, and then they were cheering it.

00:04:22.780 Convoys for freedom are taking place across the country, and you're going to get fact-based reports from Rebel News because our boots are on the ground at convoyreports.com.

00:04:41.280 I'm Drea Humphrey. I'm covering what went down February 5th in Vancouver's Freedom Convoy, and I'm actually just in front of some counter-protesters who are here to protest the individuals who routinely, in Vancouver's Freedom Movement, have always been peaceful.

00:04:58.220 So you're not going to want to miss this report, and you're not going to want to miss any of them at convoyreports.com.

00:05:04.520 Also, if you're new to Rebel News, you should know we rely on people like you to bring you the other side of the story so you can also support the cost for our journalism across the country, including at Parliament in Ottawa, by donating what you would like there at convoyreports.com.

00:05:20.680 All right, so it looks like we're at the checkpoint where counter-protesters are here to protest the protesters of the Freedom Convoy.

00:05:29.080 If you don't know that the Freedom Movement in the Lower Mainland has been going on for nearly two years. It's always been peaceful.

00:05:37.940 There are signs about white supremacy. No one seems to want to be talking. I'll just read what they are gathering here for, according to their posts on Reddit.

00:05:47.000 Goal one is to show the convoy that there are lots of people in the city who will loudly oppose them and their message.

00:05:55.860 When I tried to ask what they think their message is, I stand with health care workers.

00:06:03.140 Okay, what about the health care workers who are in the convoy? Do you stand with them too?

00:06:09.500 I'm not talking to you.

00:06:11.280 Okay, that's fine.

00:06:12.680 You know who's a health care worker? Her. 1.00

00:06:14.460 Yeah, I'm a health care worker.

00:06:16.120 Minimal minority, heard.

00:06:18.980 Great.

00:06:19.900 Hi, how are you guys?

00:06:21.260 Good.

00:06:21.460 Good.

00:06:22.020 So you got to protect health care. What's that sign about?

00:06:26.320 Just protecting health care workers.

00:06:28.520 Okay, yep.

00:06:29.300 Are they at risk right now or?

00:06:31.420 Yes.

00:06:32.080 From?

00:06:33.160 From everyone who comes in and demands expectations higher than their vaccine status.

00:06:38.800 Keep health care workers safe by vaccinating. That's it. That's all.

00:06:49.620 What about the health care workers who are not vaccinated or don't want to disclose their personal information?

00:06:55.280 I'm not interested in saying anymore. Thank you.

00:06:57.560 Okay, thank you. Have a good day.

00:06:59.560 Hi guys, how are you?

00:07:01.160 Oh, get lost, you.

00:07:02.860 Oh. 0.99

00:07:03.680 Get f***ing lost. 0.97

00:07:05.660 Oh, that's not very nice. 1.00

00:07:07.120 Scumbag. 0.99

00:07:07.620 Scumbag. 1.00

00:07:07.900 Do you think everybody who opposes mandates is a white supremacist? 0.99

00:07:14.880 What's the definition of fascism?

00:07:16.620 Do you think freedom is racist?

00:07:19.800 There's a sign. 1.00

00:07:21.020 You guys are such garbage. 1.00

00:07:23.020 Oh, that's not very nice. 1.00

00:07:25.620 I have no idea why you're racist. Horrible, horrible news organization. 0.99

00:07:29.120 Well, how about we talk about that? Why are we, why are my reports horrible?

00:07:34.540 Your news organization is not even a news organization.

00:07:37.640 That's not true. We are a news organization.

00:07:40.300 You are not. You are propaganda. Nobody respects you.

00:07:42.880 Tell me something that we've said that's not factual. 1.00

00:07:46.500 Get that f***ing thing out of my face. 1.00

00:07:48.760 Well, riddle me this, folks. 0.99

00:07:50.280 How do you know that you are observing a leftist demonstration?

00:07:55.500 Oh, that's easy peasy.

00:07:56.700 First, there is the overwhelming amount of profanity.

00:08:01.720 I guess the strategy here is if you have nothing tangible to say,

00:08:06.200 well, then just drop F-bombs.

00:08:08.100 And secondly, there is the inability of these dingbats to explain with facts

00:08:14.380 what it is they stand for, which makes them frustrated,

00:08:19.480 which leads to yet more profanity.

00:08:21.640 So sad, isn't it?

00:08:23.180 And joining me now for more on this story is our BC correspondent, Drea Humphrey.

00:08:28.740 How are you doing there, Drea?

00:08:30.420 I'm good. Now that I'm away from that report, I'm good.

00:08:34.460 Oh, man. Unbelievable.

00:08:36.760 You know, Drea, Canadians have been told by Justin Trudeau

00:08:40.920 and his heinous henchmen in the mainstream media

00:08:43.940 that the Freedom Convoy truckers and their supporters, 0.95

00:08:47.260 well, they're just a bunch of vile haters.

00:08:50.300 But it seems to me that it's the pro-lockdown Antifa types 0.90

00:08:55.300 who are the true deplorables here.

00:08:57.920 What gives?

00:08:59.840 Well, you're exactly right.

00:09:01.320 And I think Rebel News has done such a great job of having our boots on the ground

00:09:04.660 so that could be exposed.

00:09:06.220 But it's definitely the opposite.

00:09:08.740 And when you look at the proportions of size of who's who

00:09:12.060 and where the anger and hate and, in some cases, violence is coming through,

00:09:18.020 I mean, there is no comparison.

00:09:20.400 You have this small group of counter-protesters, Antifa-like people,

00:09:25.900 who are just ready and very quick to anger

00:09:29.300 and ready to put up some sort of fight that isn't peaceful.

00:09:32.980 Yeah, it's amazing.

00:09:34.340 They go by the slogan, love Trump's hate.

00:09:36.880 But if you don't agree with their position,

00:09:39.340 they hate you and might even resort to violence to express themselves.

00:09:44.880 Absolutely astonishing.

00:09:47.020 Drea, I want to talk about a couple of the double standards that we see at play,

00:09:52.180 not just with the protests in B.C., but right across our great dominion.

00:09:57.520 First of all, it was only two years ago

00:10:00.040 where we had rail blockades costing the Canadian economy billions and billions of dollars.

00:10:07.600 It went on for weeks and weeks on end.

00:10:10.580 I saw no outrage from the government.

00:10:13.640 The mainstream media, it seemed to me, were cheering on the blockaders.

00:10:18.800 Why is it so much different when you see the trucker convoy blockades?

00:10:24.880 And in fact, they're not really even blockades.

00:10:27.580 They're peaceful protests compared to what we saw just two years ago.

00:10:32.920 Well, you know, that's a good question.

00:10:34.560 I certainly can't get in the minds of the people pushing the propaganda.

00:10:39.400 But I think it really comes down to what is the approved narrative right now.

00:10:44.060 Anything the government says, that's basically all you're allowed to verbalize and make public.

00:10:50.100 Or you're going to be censored or vilified, labeled in some way or another.

00:10:56.160 And it doesn't even matter your profession, whether you're a doctor, a scientist, a journalist,

00:11:02.580 just trying to inform the public.

00:11:04.780 That is what you're up against when you say something that counters the government narrative,

00:11:12.700 which is starting to change.

00:11:14.580 We're seeing some change in that area.

00:11:16.100 Yeah, indeed.

00:11:17.700 And the other double standard, Dre, I don't know this for a 100% fact,

00:11:22.940 but I would gamble I'm right on this.

00:11:26.160 I would wager that those vulgar protesters that you encountered that were denouncing the trucker convoy

00:11:34.560 and calling on law enforcement to shut it down and get these people out of town,

00:11:40.160 I bet you these are the same folks that were protesting to defund the police a couple of summers ago.

00:11:50.040 And now suddenly, well, I guess the police are useful as being the armed, hired muscle

00:11:55.740 to get people with a contrarian opinion out of the city.

00:12:00.800 What are your thoughts?

00:12:02.360 Well, you know, that's something I'm looking into.

00:12:04.320 I'm investigating that incident you saw wasn't the only sort of very aggressive.

00:12:10.180 There were a lot of assaults, and I'm just kind of taking in information on what happened.

00:12:14.660 So far, the people I did call on social media, hey, if you saw any type of violence or whatever,

00:12:20.000 let me know.

00:12:20.460 So far, it's been all counter protests that kind of have the same vibe as what you see in that report.

00:12:26.400 So where exactly they're coming from, I think it's a mixture.

00:12:30.840 If you read the social media or sort of the Reddit thread that kind of brought them there,

00:12:36.080 there was sort of, you know, other people who are kind of like, yay, they fell for the lie

00:12:43.500 that for some reason this convoy is going to be against health care workers.

00:12:47.660 So they came there thinking they were, you know, helping health care workers, you know, being a hero.

00:12:52.960 And I think some of them, if you look in the background, were a little shocked at what was happening.

00:12:58.760 There was maybe one or two level-head people.

00:13:01.500 I think we interviewed one of those women. 1.00

00:13:03.700 So they're kind of like, what's going on?

00:13:05.340 But the protester who did, you know, hit the man on the head and stopped the traffic

00:13:13.080 and was with two children, because that's a good idea to put your children in front of moving vehicles. 0.95

00:13:18.280 You know, there were some patches on that person that I also noticed happened to be in the same patch

00:13:26.520 that's on the meeting, if you recall, the Ottawa teacher who sort of suggested bringing up arms

00:13:32.640 against the freedom protest.

00:13:34.520 One of the people in that Zoom meeting does a thumbs up when that teacher says that,

00:13:39.840 and it's the same patch.

00:13:41.360 So, you know, who are these people?

00:13:44.020 What do they stand for?

00:13:45.320 And it's definitely something that should be looked into.

00:13:48.560 And, you know, Drea, the other thing, too, is that I spent four days in Ottawa going back to last weekend.

00:13:55.700 I went to the Ambassador Bridge earlier this week at the Detroit-Windsor border.

00:14:02.360 And when I wade into the crowd, what becomes evident is that these are real salt-of-the-earth people.

00:14:09.600 They're law-abiding citizens.

00:14:11.000 A lot of them are, you know, the working class.

00:14:15.440 You know, they're not the elites.

00:14:18.680 They're not bureaucrats or government officials, et cetera.

00:14:22.060 And they're waving.

00:14:23.820 I've never seen so many Canadian flags in Ottawa, including Dominion Day celebrations.

00:14:29.860 And yet what we get from the Justin Trudeau Liberals and the mainstream media is a demonization of these people, vilification.

00:14:42.280 I'm trying to understand, and I'm sure that that was happening in Vancouver.

00:14:46.760 What is the strategy?

00:14:48.320 What is the end goal to depict these people as something they clearly are not?

00:14:54.260 Well, again, it's to silent the message.

00:14:57.980 And when you look at how it's happening, again, if we look at the report that we're talking about here, CBC was there.

00:15:04.660 They were there.

00:15:05.940 And they went around and they, you know, they interviewed.

00:15:08.620 And then there was this father who had his child on his shoulders.

00:15:11.820 And he said, you know, oh, this is not about freedom.

00:15:14.700 This is about white supremacy.

00:15:16.040 And you could just see it was like, OK, got it.

00:15:18.640 You know, eight days, eight hours a day is done.

00:15:21.280 They packed up and things started getting crazy.

00:15:23.980 And they didn't stay around to actually cover the madness that unfolded.

00:15:28.380 And then they left after they got their bit.

00:15:30.000 So you have, you know, this percentage of people that are seeing it.

00:15:33.080 And I don't know if it starts to become like because that's what people see, that's what people start to be comfortable saying.

00:15:39.500 But if you look at polls and things like that, you can see that the majority of Canadians do agree with the message of the trucker convoy,

00:15:47.600 which is to end COVID-19 mandates.

00:15:50.280 So it's just this I think that a lot of it has to do with the propaganda that's going around.

00:15:56.460 And when people see, you know, a politician or even a journalist from the CBC or something say something with a straight face,

00:16:06.000 I think they automatically assume that that must be true.

00:16:09.960 Like if Trudeau labels people in this way, it has to be truth or based on truth because they wouldn't say that in front of the whole, you know, world to see if it wasn't.

00:16:20.260 So I think people just think because it's such a brazen message, it just has to be reality.

00:16:26.780 Yeah, let's let's face facts here, Drea.

00:16:29.940 The prime minister has lied through his teeth about this.

00:16:33.640 He's called them a fringe element.

00:16:35.500 Going back to what you said earlier about the percentage of people that support these trucker protests.

00:16:40.740 It's actually a greater percentage than those who voted for the Trudeau liberals last September.

00:16:49.340 So, again, you know, if you're getting your facts from the government, if you're getting your facts from the mainstream media, I think you're being duped.

00:16:58.580 Last question.

00:17:00.360 What do you see happening in Vancouver in the days and weeks ahead?

00:17:04.500 These trucker convoy protests are spreading all over the country, Drea.

00:17:10.000 What do you see happening on the ground in your territory?

00:17:14.640 Well, absolutely, there is another convoy being started.

00:17:17.900 It's actually already in the making.

00:17:20.300 Matt and I went out there and look, they got the porta potty set up and there was just a few people.

00:17:24.700 But their big day is being planned for Saturday to start.

00:17:29.620 And that's by the 176 trucker crossing, you know, towards the lower mainland.

00:17:36.320 So it looks like something's going to be happening there.

00:17:39.140 And a lot of it is actually, you know, not necessarily truckers at this point.

00:17:43.900 It's just citizens who are ready to go and stay there overnight and convoy and wait it out.

00:17:49.480 And then I'm also hearing about more people going to Ottawa for British Columbia.

00:17:55.900 So that's happening too.

00:17:57.000 I don't know if you're hearing that out where you are as well.

00:17:59.500 But there's a lot of people who are like, okay, well, if the police are going to, you know, go hard on them,

00:18:03.660 then we need to be there to support them and show that it's not even just the people who are there.

00:18:07.500 There's a lot more Canadians rooting for this peaceful protest to have these mandates ended. 0.64

00:18:13.880 Well, Drea, I know you will cover what's to follow.

00:18:18.380 Stay safe.

00:18:19.500 Don't let those vulgar people on the left get you down. 0.99

00:18:24.760 They're despicable.

00:18:25.860 And I think when you start using profanity, you've lost the debate.

00:18:31.020 You know, when you do an ad hominem attack, you've lost the debate.

00:18:35.040 So you're winning.

00:18:36.140 They're losing.

00:18:37.180 And it's so nice to see that caught on camera.

00:18:39.720 Have a wonderful weekend, my friend.

00:18:41.640 You too.

00:18:42.440 Bye, everyone.

00:18:43.140 And that was Drea Humphrey in Vancouver.

00:18:46.440 Keep it here, folks.

00:18:47.220 More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.

00:18:54.520 The story I'm about to bring you is two years in the making.

00:18:57.900 It is long overdue.

00:18:59.700 It's about a little town in northern Alberta that proves there was always another way forward,

00:19:04.840 always another way to deal with COVID-19 that didn't involve closing our businesses

00:19:09.460 and shuttering ourselves away from society in our homes like hermits. 0.98

00:19:13.480 There was always another way to deal with this like a community, like Albertans. 1.00

00:19:18.080 Now, the community I'm talking about is La Crete, Alberta, population 3,500, 700 kilometers northwest of the capital city.

00:19:25.020 A 14-hour round trip to the seat of government in this province.

00:19:28.460 And I think, I think that's what might have saved them.

00:19:31.460 That and their ability to stick together no matter what.

00:19:34.200 But I think that comes with being so far away from civilization.

00:19:37.820 You have to lean on each other.

00:19:39.560 You have to have a stronger sense of community and a stronger tie to your neighbor when help and resources are not necessarily right around the corner.

00:19:47.540 La Crete's also the Mennonite capital of the north.

00:19:50.980 And if I know anything about my Anabaptist friends and neighbors, they love to stick together.

00:19:55.760 A sense of community is part of their religion.

00:19:57.820 And because of their strong ties to their faith, they see a moral obligation in opposing government mandates when those dictates run afoul of biblical teaching.

00:20:06.840 But not everybody in La Crete is a Mennonite.

00:20:09.920 For example, La Crete is home to a sister church of Edmonton's lockdown-resisting Grace Life Church.

00:20:15.220 Grace Bible Fellowship, headed up by the very kind, Pastor Mike Hovland, has that same Christian worldview as his brothers and sisters in Christ over at Grace Life Church.

00:20:24.920 These Christians feel a moral obligation to honor the laws of God over the laws of man when the laws of man conflict with those of God. 0.83

00:20:32.740 For these folks, they say they are commanded to meet in person unrestricted every week.

00:20:37.360 They cannot forsake in-person fellowship.

00:20:39.920 So it should have come as absolutely no surprise from the very beginning that when lockdowns and business closures and church restrictions came to Alberta, little La Crete, well, they just carried on the way they always have.

00:20:52.200 And now I thought at the time about going up to visit this miraculous little town where life just went on as normal, but I didn't think they needed all the attention.

00:21:01.380 What they were doing, well, it was truly wonderful, but I didn't want them to become a spectacle wherein suddenly the locker-downers called for the hammer of government to smash down on La Crete.

00:21:14.120 So I let them be and I watched with awe as something fascinating and beautiful played out far away from the prying eyes of the lockdown mainstream media.

00:21:22.660 La Crete never locked down.

00:21:24.920 They never forced businesses closed.

00:21:27.000 They never forced masks.

00:21:28.960 They never restricted their churches.

00:21:30.880 They never forced people to separate from friends and family.

00:21:34.140 They never canceled holidays.

00:21:37.180 And unlike other communities, the local government and the local chamber of commerce was completely on board with the decision of the citizens to live the way they wanted.

00:21:46.260 Now, in the county, Mackenzie County, a stretch of land larger than New Brunswick, where La Crete is located, only 35% of the population is fully vaccinated to COVID-19.

00:21:56.640 Because to live your life in La Crete, you didn't have to get vaccinated.

00:22:00.060 So La Crete serves as a snapshot of people who would actually make the choice freely to be vaccinated if they weren't coerced by the government.

00:22:08.600 This is another reason why La Crete is so important.

00:22:11.160 It shows where people are really at once you remove the force of the state.

00:22:15.580 At the beginning of the pandemic, when La Crete didn't lock down, the media was kind of mad.

00:22:21.160 They treated La Crete like a bunch of religious weirdos, these backwards people at the end of the road. 1.00

00:22:26.120 And I think the media watched with a little bit of hope for, and I told you so, a catastrophic disease event to unfold and La Crete to prove their points about lockdowns and vaccines. 0.57

00:22:37.140 But that never happened.

00:22:38.160 And then the media, with their bloodlust for COVID catastrophe, left unsatiated in La Crete.

00:22:43.160 They sort of left the town alone.

00:22:45.580 Until this past December, when CBC tried to stoke division in the community.

00:22:49.620 Two months after the province of Alberta brought in a vaccine passport system, they say they never would.

00:22:55.140 CBC ran a story where they found somebody in town who wears a mask when he feels like it, which is all anybody ever wanted in the first place.

00:23:03.560 The choice.

00:23:04.240 And CBC did interviews with Mennonite farmers who were skeptical of the government's $100 incentive to get vaccinated.

00:23:11.160 Now, I'm old enough to remember when the media was supposed to be skeptical of the government.

00:23:16.620 Except here, the media is skeptical of the public's skepticism of the government in this story.

00:23:23.160 Well, can you believe it, folks?

00:23:24.860 The pandemic is over in Little La Crete, situated in northwest Alberta.

00:23:30.280 But it seems so counterintuitive, doesn't it?

00:23:33.260 After all, this town ignored the edicts of health bureaucrats who insisted on people masking up and all that other stuff.

00:23:41.160 They also insisted that facilities should never be full capacity and so on and so on.

00:23:47.820 Indeed, if one were to believe it, the doom and gloom dogtators would paint La Crete as a place that is destined to become a super spreader town,

00:23:59.140 given its lowest vaccination rate in the entire province.

00:24:03.640 But nothing could be further from the truth.

00:24:06.840 And with more on this story is our chief reporter herself, Sheila Gunn-Reed.

00:24:12.280 How are you doing today, Sheila?

00:24:14.480 I'm great, David. Thanks for having me on the show.

00:24:16.820 It's always a pleasure.

00:24:18.000 Sheila, I got to tell you, I think that was one of your very best reports ever.

00:24:22.400 And the story of La Crete should be front-page news.

00:24:25.580 But, of course, it won't be because it goes completely against the mainstream media narrative.

00:24:30.900 But here's the thing, when it comes to the science element of the, let's call it the La Crete miracle, what's the deal?

00:24:40.000 Why did this town do so well by ignoring the advice of the health bureaucrats?

00:24:47.060 You know, they did so well specifically because they are so far from the city.

00:24:51.540 So they're so far from the tattletales and you couldn't, I don't think, get local cops to enforce the mandates on them

00:25:00.980 because they have to live and work in these communities.

00:25:03.620 So what saved them was just distance and a sense of community and they're tied to their faith.

00:25:09.800 All those things that sort of make rural Alberta so great.

00:25:14.180 They just decided from the very beginning, no, we don't live here at the end of the road so that people in Edmonton can tell us how to live our lives.

00:25:24.560 And so they rejected the fear, they rejected the division, and they just carried on the way they always did.

00:25:33.220 And as I say in my report, the media was cheering for a catastrophe.

00:25:37.720 The catastrophe never came, so then the media stopped paying attention to La Crete because they were counter to the narrative that the locker-downers in the mainstream media

00:25:48.640 and the politicians wanted everybody to believe.

00:25:52.980 And for them, what I think is most important about La Crete is with their 35% vaccination rate,

00:26:01.340 I think that is the most accurate snapshot of how many people in this province would have gotten vaccinated

00:26:13.360 if there weren't government coercion involved because in La Crete, you could just choose to get vaccinated.

00:26:20.760 But you didn't need to get vaccinated to watch your kids play hockey, to go to the gym, to participate in everyday life,

00:26:26.860 to go out for a burger, whatever.

00:26:28.700 You didn't have to live that way.

00:26:30.900 So if you took coercion out of the equation, I think La Crete serves as a barometer of how many people would get vaccinated

00:26:39.700 if they had the choice and not force.

00:26:43.040 You know what, that's an excellent point, Sheila.

00:26:44.900 And I'd go even further.

00:26:47.460 Government coercion is one thing in terms of shutting down restaurants and arenas and movie theatres.

00:26:52.600 You can survive that.

00:26:54.940 I'm more concerned about the corporate coercion we've seen in the last several months,

00:26:59.900 i.e. get the jabs or you lose your jobs.

00:27:03.340 Sheila, people have mortgages to pay.

00:27:05.520 They've got to put groceries on the table. 0.96

00:27:07.640 When you are at risk of enduring what I call an economic death sentence,

00:27:13.980 yeah, I bet you there's a huge percentage of people that took it simply because of that.

00:27:19.420 Your thoughts?

00:27:20.160 Again, La Crete got everything right in this respect when everybody else got everything wrong.

00:27:28.500 We've seen, basically across the board, chambers of commerce, which are supposed to be representative of the local economy,

00:27:37.600 the small businessman.

00:27:38.980 We've seen the CFIB, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, not stand up against any of this stuff.

00:27:45.200 All they've ever really asked for was a bailout.

00:27:47.760 They never resisted business closures or vaccine passports, anything like that.

00:27:52.920 They just thought, well, if the government's going to close us, they should pay us.

00:27:56.240 That's the opposite of independence.

00:27:58.700 So they might want to take that out of their name when you're reliant on the government for subsidies so you can keep your doors open.

00:28:06.280 But in La Crete, it was the Chamber of Commerce that facilitated the testing, that showed the world that there was another way.

00:28:15.080 Instead of Chamber of Commerce agreeing with the lockdowns, this Chamber of Commerce said, we didn't lock down, we didn't force any businesses to do anything.

00:28:28.500 Now let's see if we got it right.

00:28:30.780 Let's see if the science supports the decisions we made.

00:28:34.600 They're the ones that did this.

00:28:36.080 It wasn't just a citizens' initiative.

00:28:37.700 The Chamber of Commerce organized all of this, which makes them a complete and total anomaly in the entire country.

00:28:45.720 And their local government, same thing.

00:28:48.480 The local government said, we're not making anybody in La Crete live by the edicts of Edmonton or Ottawa.

00:28:56.960 We're the local government.

00:28:58.440 We'll decide what happens here.

00:29:00.120 And we are obligated to listen to the people who elected us.

00:29:03.480 So whereas all these other institutions all across the country failed to represent the people, in La Crete, the institutions we expect to represent people actually did the right thing.

00:29:16.200 And Sheila, let's talk about another institution, the mainstream media, which I think in this story achieved yet another despicable benchmark in terms of reporting that they weren't depicting this as a good news story.

00:29:30.320 There were so many tattletale COVID Karens saying, hey, look at this, look at this, when there was nothing to look at.

00:29:39.180 You know, Sheila, it's amazing.

00:29:41.600 Back in the day when you saw the credo of so many journalistic outfits, such as the Toronto Star, was afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.

00:29:51.840 It seems to be the opposite these days.

00:29:54.760 As you said in your piece, the media isn't skeptical of government anymore.

00:30:00.640 They're skeptical of people who are skeptical of the government.

00:30:05.080 What is driving this fear agenda?

00:30:10.900 Well, you know, it's I just want to attribute it to laziness.

00:30:15.800 There's a lot of I think I call them the laptop class, the avocado and toast class.

00:30:21.380 A lot of them are journalists.

00:30:23.600 They kind of like not having to get up and go to work, do all your work by Zoom, tune into a press conference, ask a politician a question over Zoom.

00:30:35.320 You don't actually have to do very much anymore, which is good for us because we actually have journalists out in the field, which means that we have more eyeballs on our work than ever because the mainstream media is falling down on the job.

00:30:48.440 I think a lot of the mainstream media stoking this fear is because they just don't want to get back out there into the world and work.

00:30:57.620 I think a lot of it has to do with laziness.

00:31:00.360 But there was at some point a switch, as you point out, where the media went from holding the government to account on behalf of the people to holding the people to account on behalf of the government.

00:31:15.300 And that switch, while I think it was voluntary, it's being reinforced by government bailouts and subsidies, in particular the CBC.

00:31:26.340 They know who pays the bills.

00:31:28.160 Nobody watches them.

00:31:29.680 Nobody advertises on the CBC.

00:31:32.400 And I don't know how they're even selling advertising, considering how few people actually watch them.

00:31:38.660 If I were a company looking to get eyeballs on my product, I'm not sure that I would be reaching out to the CBC and saying, how much for an ad buy?

00:31:46.840 Because it's a statistical rounding error of Canadians who actually watch that content.

00:31:51.800 So, CBC, of course, enforces the government fearmonger lockdown line because they work for the government at the end of the day and not for the people.

00:32:03.880 Yeah, I think you're right.

00:32:05.060 I think it is laziness.

00:32:07.100 I think it's a philosophy of don't bite the government hand that feeds them, especially in what is a sunset industry in terms of many aspects of the media these days, especially print.

00:32:18.360 I also think there's an ideological element at play here, Sheila.

00:32:25.100 We have so many progressive Marxists in the media, and that tells you all that you need to know.

00:32:31.960 Well, you know, we've got to wrap it here.

00:32:33.040 I want to urge our viewers, please go and watch Sheila's entire piece.

00:32:38.320 It is absolutely fantastic.

00:32:40.400 What happened to La Crete?

00:32:41.340 It should be a template for the world, actually, in terms of getting past this pandemic.

00:32:48.180 You consider the more than trillion dollars worth of damage that was done to the Canadian economy.

00:32:53.820 And what we saw in La Crete is the counterpoint where we didn't have to go through that torturous two years of lockdown mandate.

00:33:05.100 So, Sheila, a fantastic piece.

00:33:07.920 I know you're one that never puts avocado on your toast, probably bad.

00:33:12.900 So thank you and have a great weekend, my friend.

00:33:16.460 Thanks, David.

00:33:17.180 You too.

00:33:17.860 Great.

00:33:18.460 And that was Sheila Gunn-Reed somewhere in the northern hinterland of Alberta.

00:33:23.480 Keep it here, folks.

00:33:24.260 More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.

00:33:26.380 David Menzies for Rebel News here near Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

00:33:35.800 Well, folks, it looks like at the one-week mark of the trucker protests, it could be that, yet again, more than 100,000 people are going to assemble here.

00:33:45.140 There are reports of another 200 to 300 more trucks coming in.

00:33:50.400 This city is jammed like I've never seen it.

00:33:53.640 And, you know, I couldn't help but notice the missed opportunity as my camera member, Rich, who and I walked down towards Parliament Hill.

00:34:02.940 Restaurant after restaurant was closed up.

00:34:05.840 But why?

00:34:06.620 There is so much business to be had.

00:34:09.420 Here we are at the Tim Hortons.

00:34:11.280 This place is usually packed during normal times.

00:34:14.360 It would be a lineup out the door if they decided to open up.

00:34:18.100 So why aren't they opening up?

00:34:20.840 So one restaurant after another closed.

00:34:23.200 There might be another 100,000 people on the street.

00:34:26.480 Here we are outside of Tim Hortons.

00:34:28.460 There's a little pub down there.

00:34:30.400 They're closed.

00:34:31.760 Why are they closed when there's so much business to be had?

00:34:35.400 Well, you know, there's a lot of fear being spread on the news.

00:34:38.320 There's a lot of information that they decide to share.

00:34:41.520 And the thing is, they've created so much fear that people think we can't be here.

00:34:47.560 But if people came and actually saw the love and acceptance, there's no reason that these restaurants should be closed out of fear of what's happening.

00:34:56.740 Yeah, well, it is true.

00:34:58.140 It's a great time to be open.

00:34:59.600 I mean, Ottawa is set up for big events, right?

00:35:02.960 I mean, Canada Day, all that kind of stuff.

00:35:04.900 They're used to that, right?

00:35:05.960 And this is a big event.

00:35:07.540 Why wouldn't you be open to get the business?

00:35:09.800 It just, it makes sense.

00:35:11.000 But I don't know, you know, whatever's influencing them, it's not a good decision.

00:35:16.580 Absolutely.

00:35:17.460 Yes.

00:35:18.000 It would have been official for everybody for them to be open.

00:35:20.780 We could warm up and they can have a great business.

00:35:24.240 So, after two years of suffering due to COVID lockdowns, here was a glorious opportunity to make up for some lost revenue.

00:35:35.760 And instead, restaurants like Tim Hortons and so many others are leaving thousands on the table because they believe the government,

00:35:44.420 they believe the mainstream media, that the peaceful people here are thugs prone to violence and vandalism.

00:35:51.220 What a disgrace.

00:35:52.360 You know, there are so many angles when it comes to the Ottawa Freedom Convoy protest.

00:35:57.540 And one of those storylines is the supposed negative financial impact being inflicted on so many downtown Ottawa businesses because of the convoy.

00:36:07.660 But the question arises, who is really to blame for that fiscal pain?

00:36:13.560 Well, if you believe the mainstream media narrative, these businesses had to close due to health and safety concerns.

00:36:20.960 You know, the idea that the Freedom Convoy supporters are violent and prone to assault and vandalism.

00:36:28.520 That's fake news on steroids, folks.

00:36:31.840 And yet, about 90% of downtown Ottawa restaurants closed shop last weekend because they believed the hype.

00:36:39.600 That's too bad because the eateries that remained open had lineups of customers out the door.

00:36:46.760 And the demonstrators who patronized those eateries were brandishing wallets, not weapons.

00:36:53.400 Don't expect the likes of the CBC to report on that, however.

00:36:57.420 In any event, you had plenty to say about this missed opportunity for so many business people who bought into the fear factor, missing out on a jackpot in the process.

00:37:09.540 Greg M writes, I'm quite certain that the businesses that chose to close will be receiving government checks for whatever arbitrary amounts the big thinkers on Parliament Hill decide.

00:37:22.360 And you can bet that they are fully aware of this.

00:37:25.800 It's going to end up being a paid vacation for the owners, but probably not for the minimum wage employees.

00:37:32.540 Well, you know, you might be right, Greg.

00:37:36.040 Hey, just put it on the taxpayer tab.

00:37:38.440 That seems to be the whiz-bang slogan of the Liberals these days.

00:37:42.880 Besides, the budget will balance itself, right?

00:37:46.980 Terry W writes, can't wait to hear the opened restaurants bragging of exceptional weekend business to those that remain closed.

00:37:55.280 Oh, believe me, Terry, those restaurants that remained open enjoyed record sales last weekend.

00:38:01.020 And it's a simple supply and demand equation when there are some 100,000 people in the downtown core, but 9 out of 10 restaurants close their doors for no good reason.

00:38:11.880 Well, that is a missed opportunity for those scaredy cats due to buying into a completely false fear factor.

00:38:20.800 How sad.

00:38:22.120 Martine MJT writes, imagine not opening during a once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity.

00:38:27.880 Cannot believe these businesses belong to individuals.

00:38:32.800 You know, you're right, Martine.

00:38:33.860 It's almost as if most of the downtown Ottawa restaurants are owned and operated by lazy government bureaucrats as opposed to hardworking entrepreneurs.

00:38:45.720 And Skedi Kostin writes, so why is the mayor squawking about the businesses being hurt by the protests?

00:38:53.460 Yes, exactly, Skedi.

00:38:55.280 Hey, those shuttered businesses are indeed hurting.

00:38:59.560 But here's the crux of the matter.

00:39:01.420 The hurting is a direct result of a self-inflicted wound.

00:39:05.440 Nobody ordered any businesses to close.

00:39:08.520 And the protesters were on their best behavior.

00:39:11.340 They just wanted to buy some grub or a hot beverage and get indoors for a bit to warm up.

00:39:18.000 Opportunity abounded.

00:39:19.520 And as the saying goes, it's one thing to look a gift horse in the mouth.

00:39:24.260 It's quite another thing to kick its teeth in.

00:39:27.960 Well, that wraps up another edition of Rebel Roundup.

00:39:30.840 Thanks so much for joining us.

00:39:32.140 See you next week.

00:39:33.320 And hey, folks, never forget, without risk, there can be no glory.

00:39:38.100 Good night.

00:39:41.340 Good night.

Rebel News Podcast - February 12, 2022

DAVID MENZIES ｜ Vancouver's Convoy Protest; La Crete Is COVID-free

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