Rebel News Podcast - EZRA LEVANT ｜ Another wrinkle in the infamous Busty Lemieux saga

00:00:00.000 Tonight, what's the latest regarding shop teacher Busty Lemieux?

00:00:19.200 Well, we've got the scoop and talk about the nightmare before Christmas.

00:00:23.620 It's Tuesday, December 20th, 2022. I'm David Menzies, and this is the Ezra Levent Show.

00:00:34.420 Although the woke joke Halton District School Board would prefer that the Busty Lemieux saga

00:00:52.600 would simply go away, alas and alack, this whale of a tale regarding that shop teacher

00:00:58.940 with the enormous fake breasts is still garnering attention the world over. 1.00

00:01:04.800 Indeed, this sordid saga has been covered by international media,

00:01:09.520 ranging from Fox News in the U.S. to the Daily Mail in the U.K.

00:01:13.540 And little wonder, because at the end of the day, the HDSB's commitment to wokeness

00:01:20.380 has made this school board an international laughingstock.

00:01:25.840 And yet, even at this late date, the HDSB refuses to do the right thing.

00:01:33.140 Like, for starters, telling Mr. Lemieux that if he insists on dressing like, you know,

00:01:37.940 a drag queen, could he kindly dress appropriately? 0.99

00:01:42.940 Like, can he find a blouse that doesn't get penetrated by those enormous fake nipples, 1.00

00:01:48.980 which are attached to those enormous fake Z-cup breasts? 1.00

00:01:53.640 Is that too much of an ask? 0.96

00:01:56.060 Well, apparently, yeah.

00:01:57.620 Yes, it is, at least according to the HDSB.

00:02:00.400 As well, why won't the HDSB launch an investigation regarding whether Mr. Lemieux is a prankster

00:02:09.320 or maybe even a pervert?

00:02:12.300 Everybody knows that this is not a genuine male-to-female transition. 0.96

00:02:17.580 Trans people want to blend in with those of the other sex, 1.00

00:02:20.600 not put themselves on display as if they were gross caricatures of the other sex.

00:02:26.520 But to even ask questions regarding Lemieux's motive is what?

00:02:33.400 An act of transphobia, at least in the view of the HDSB?

00:02:38.480 Indeed, it appears as though the HDSB thinks the real solution to this sordid saga

00:02:44.260 is to shoot the messenger?

00:02:47.840 Oh, yeah.

00:02:48.540 Case in point, I was recently sent a letter by the HDSB.

00:02:52.660 It states that I have been banned for life from attending its headquarters

00:02:58.060 as well as any HDSB properties or schools in Halton Region.

00:03:04.460 My crime?

00:03:05.540 Well, I'm asking insensitive questions.

00:03:08.500 Now, imagine that.

00:03:10.320 Suspended for life for wrong thought.

00:03:13.260 You know, I'm having a flashback to 1987 when WWF Commissioner Jack Tunney

00:03:18.440 did precisely that to wrestling referee Danny Davis.

00:03:23.120 Referee Danny Davis is suspended for life!

00:03:28.180 Oh, my goodness!

00:03:30.280 How about that?

00:03:32.360 A standing ovation for that announcement!

00:03:35.040 Danny Davis has been suspended for life!

00:03:39.000 Yeah, really?

00:03:40.240 How can anyone do that?

00:03:42.520 But the only thing different here is that referee Danny Davis was a corrupt referee,

00:03:50.320 whereas reporter David Menzies is just a journalist asking a few tough questions,

00:03:56.800 questions that the HDSB educrats don't want to hear.

00:04:01.480 And it's not just me that the HDSB is trying to muzzle and censor.

00:04:06.720 Students were recently warned not to take pictures or videos of Lemieux,

00:04:13.000 and if they did so, they would face suspension.

00:04:16.840 Yeah!

00:04:17.500 Thankfully, this threat hasn't stopped some brave students from recording Busty Lemieux and his shenanigans.

00:04:25.760 And one video that was recently shot is most interesting indeed.

00:04:30.000 It appears to show a student vaping in class.

00:04:34.540 That's a no-no, right?

00:04:35.960 Everybody knows that smoking it a little louder, too.

00:04:40.440 But look at this video.

00:04:42.460 The kid is vaping away right next to Busty Lemieux, 1.00

00:04:46.720 and Lemieux is doing nothing to lay down the law.

00:04:51.180 Then again, we've heard his classes are disasters these days.

00:04:56.600 None of the students respect this wannabe drag queen. 1.00

00:04:59.780 The kids aren't learning anything, and they're all doing their own thing.

00:05:03.780 As that vaping video clearly demonstrates.

00:05:07.460 And really, can you blame them?

00:05:10.000 By the way, when it comes to the rules, forget about the Ministry of Education.

00:05:16.000 Where in blue hell is the Ministry of Labor?

00:05:18.300 Busty Lemieux continues to violate every workshop etiquette rule in the book. 1.00

00:05:24.960 Long-sleeved shirts, jewelry, no hairnet, and so on and so forth.

00:05:30.260 But apparently, it's no harm, no foul.

00:05:33.260 Why?

00:05:33.440 Oh, yeah, I almost forgot.

00:05:36.520 Lemieux is allegedly a trans individual, and we should all know by now,

00:05:42.160 trans people don't have equal rights. 1.00

00:05:45.500 They have extra special rights.

00:05:47.780 Excuse me, ma'am.

00:05:48.720 No porn at the bar.

00:05:49.920 Oh, it's okay. 0.97

00:05:50.520 I'm transgender.

00:05:51.520 Oh, I had no idea.

00:05:53.300 Do whatever you want all the time.

00:05:54.920 As well, it should be noted that the HDSB is now reassigning Busty Lemieux to other schools in the district.

00:06:02.440 While he started the school year at Oakville Trafalgar High School back in September,

00:06:06.740 he was recently dispatched to Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School in Burlington.

00:06:13.760 Now, check out this little video that shows Busty Lemieux hobbling along a school hallway 0.99

00:06:18.580 with the help of crutches while wearing a boot cast on his right foot.

00:06:24.340 Now, why is the HDSB playing whack-a-mole with the Busty one? 1.00

00:06:29.920 Is it to take the heat off Oakville Trafalgar High School?

00:06:33.620 You see, folks, in the last several weeks, this school has been the frequent target of numerous bomb threats,

00:06:41.100 all of which were proven to be thankfully bogus.

00:06:43.880 Alas, I suspect it is only a matter of time before Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School

00:06:50.460 receives phoned-in bomb threats, too.

00:06:53.980 As well, one wonders how Lemieux presumably hurt his foot.

00:06:59.080 Could it have been from a skydiving mishap?

00:07:02.560 After all, in late October, Lemieux went parachuting with an individual named Voodoo. 0.99

00:07:07.340 Now, Voodoo is self-described as, quote,

00:07:11.140 the conservative porn star skydiver, end quote.

00:07:15.580 No, we're not making this up, folks. Trust us.

00:07:19.580 And check out these ludicrous pics. 0.85

00:07:22.360 But wait a minute. 0.99

00:07:23.140 I thought there was a photo ban regarding this publicity prostitute. 1.00

00:07:27.880 So, do you get the feeling, folks, that Busty Lemieux never even asked for such a photo ban,

00:07:34.720 but this was self-generated by the HDSB, you know, to make this story go away?

00:07:42.320 Another development in recent weeks was that the HDSB took delivery of a staff report,

00:07:49.040 which looked at the possibility of implementing a dress code for its teachers. 1.00

00:07:54.160 The answer, well, staff said it's impossible to do so due to potential liability.

00:08:03.220 But does that make any sense, folks?

00:08:06.080 There is a dress code for students.

00:08:08.880 There's even, if you can believe it, a Halloween costume dress code. 0.96

00:08:14.060 In fact, this recommendation against a dress code for staffers is absolute rubbish, 0.70

00:08:21.600 according to respected labor lawyers Howard Leavitt and Peter Carey.

00:08:26.560 Writing in the Financial Post recently, Leavitt and Carey stated the following,

00:08:31.180 Why, then, is the Halton District School Board allowing this garish,

00:09:00.400 sexualized, hyperbolic, provocative, in short, completely inappropriate attire.

00:09:07.680 One has to conjure that they are a victim of wokeness.

00:09:12.060 Because the teacher in question has self-identified as transgendered,

00:09:17.280 they are terrified to take appropriate action.

00:09:20.900 If any of us went to work in costume or barefoot and generally unkempt,

00:09:26.840 we would reasonably expect to be sent home, if not fired.

00:09:32.320 If we argued that we did so as a presentation of a particular identity or even gender identity,

00:09:40.080 it would be no different as that is not a defense, contrary to what Halton would have you believe.

00:09:47.620 Let's be clear, the Halton District School Board has the legal ability to insist that their teachers wear appropriate attire to school.

00:09:58.800 They should do that in the present case.

00:10:02.060 Not to do so actually creates a precedent and legally opens the door for further abuses.

00:10:08.620 The Halton District School Board is failing its students and its teachers in not dealing with such outrageous conduct.

00:10:20.160 End quote.

00:10:21.160 But apparently the HDSB educrats know better than Canada's top labor lawyers.

00:10:27.460 Oh, they're so smart, those Halton educrats.

00:10:30.640 And while wokeness is driving the agenda, it is only up until a certain point,

00:10:37.660 oh, sure, the HDSB educrats, they're all down with that radical transgender revolution. 1.00

00:10:45.380 But only when students have to put up with such a freak show.

00:10:49.700 Because when it comes to the HDSB educrats,

00:10:53.200 when someone comes to their doorstep dressed in an identical fashion to Bussie Lemieux,

00:11:00.000 well, that's a little too, you know, vulgar for them.

00:11:04.240 And so it is that the HDSB trustees and staff literally, and I mean literally, run away.

00:11:11.780 Check it out.

00:11:12.500 Who is going to take this petition?

00:11:14.620 And who is going to answer this lady's questions? 1.00

00:11:18.120 Dr. Shuttleworth?

00:11:20.760 Well, I don't know.

00:11:21.520 I think they're obviously transphobic.

00:11:23.100 They can't handle a birthing person like me asking them questions. 1.00

00:11:26.920 I'm getting so nervous my uterus is about to fall out.

00:11:29.940 Let me tell you.

00:11:31.220 Oh, shame.

00:11:33.340 Shame.

00:11:35.060 Shame.

00:11:36.580 Why is he subbing in other classes?

00:11:40.400 Why is he not restricted to only the shopper while we deal with this situation?

00:11:44.860 Why is he subbing in grade 10 math and grade 10 science with 15-year-olds?

00:11:49.960 They're 15.

00:11:52.700 They're 15. 1.00

00:11:55.800 Cowards. 0.99

00:11:56.660 The school has ignored them. 1.00

00:11:57.620 Look at you running away.

00:11:59.220 I don't know if you answer.

00:12:00.220 Running away.

00:12:01.300 Why don't you answer?

00:12:02.880 You're the adults the children depend on?

00:12:05.520 Really?

00:12:06.620 This is a sad world we live in.

00:12:09.020 Yep.

00:12:10.020 See how they run.

00:12:12.620 Yeah.

00:12:12.860 While the HDSB continues to come across as a laughingstock the world over, here's something

00:12:18.480 that isn't so funny. 0.99

00:12:20.560 What if Lemieux is indeed a sexual pervert? 0.97

00:12:23.660 What if he suffers from autogenophilia, which is defined as a male's propensity to be sexually 0.99

00:12:30.360 aroused by the thought of himself as a female?

00:12:33.900 While there is much speculation online that Lemieux is pranking the school board because he is allegedly

00:12:40.680 anti-woke, I've got to be honest, folks, I'm not so sure about that anymore.

00:12:46.420 Check out this photo that dates back before the current school year when Lemieux started

00:12:51.800 going to class as a drag queen.

00:12:54.380 This pic was snapped at a Burlington theater that was hosting a dance recital for little

00:12:59.840 girls.

00:13:01.040 The event was private.

00:13:02.700 It was not open to the public.

00:13:04.700 Yet Lemieux allegedly snuck in during intermission and plopped himself in a front row seat.

00:13:11.580 Allegedly, he was in a state of arousal as he watched the little dancers.

00:13:16.760 And how disturbing is that?

00:13:20.020 Unsurprisingly, many parents began talking amongst themselves, asking, who is this parent?

00:13:27.240 And given Lemieux did not have a daughter at this recital, well, he was eventually asked

00:13:31.800 to leave and he did so.

00:13:33.020 But how creepy, how gross is this, that a mature single male dresses up as a caricature of a

00:13:41.660 female and then sneaks into a private venue to watch little girls dance and is apparently

00:13:48.400 getting turned on by this?

00:13:49.920 Are you kidding me?

00:13:51.680 So, no, I don't believe that pranking the board is Lemieux's unspoken strategy. 0.99

00:13:58.240 I think he's a pervert.

00:14:00.020 Yet we live in a woke climate where perversion is merely an expression of diversity and where 0.98

00:14:08.040 one of the mantras espoused by the progressives is, if it's trans, it's good.

00:14:14.640 And if it's good, it's trans. 1.00

00:14:16.960 And that means the HDSB strangled by its own political correctness boa constrictor is powerless

00:14:25.480 to take a stand for common decency.

00:14:29.740 Shameful.

00:14:30.780 By the way, I did reach out to trustee Dr. Margot Shuttleworth.

00:14:35.160 She's the one who's always banging her gavel, telling me I'm out of order with my questions.

00:14:40.400 Well, at least during the days in which I was allowed to go to the HDSB meetings as opposed

00:14:47.060 to being threatened for arrest for trespassing, that's the current situation.

00:14:53.100 Here's how our conversation went.

00:14:55.380 Margot Shuttleworth speaking.

00:14:56.440 Yes.

00:14:56.940 Hi, Dr. Shuttleworth.

00:14:58.140 Just curious, why isn't the HDSB investigating Lemieux for sexual perversity that perhaps he

00:15:07.100 suffers from autogenophilia?

00:15:08.800 Hi there.

00:15:10.420 Can I get your name, please?

00:15:11.540 Yes, it's David Menzies speaking, as you know.

00:15:14.000 Oh, hi, David.

00:15:14.620 How are you?

00:15:15.060 Very good.

00:15:16.140 Oh, okay then.

00:15:18.040 Yeah, so, I mean, we've been sent photos of him going to a dance recital involving little

00:15:25.800 girls, clothes to the public. 0.94

00:15:28.060 He snuck in at intermission, evidently, in his costume.

00:15:32.180 And this has got many people wondering why the HDSB hasn't even investigated if this is

00:15:42.000 either perversity or perhaps he's pranking the school board.

00:15:45.860 Have these questions been addressed, Dr. Shuttleworth?

00:15:49.440 So, Mr. Menzies, I'm not sure as to what it is you're asking me.

00:15:54.900 There are certain things I can't disclose due to confidentiality issues around staffing.

00:16:00.180 However, there are investigations that are going and we are always asking questions of

00:16:04.120 the staff at the board.

00:16:05.720 No, no, but the question is, if you are taking it, it would seem, on face value that this is

00:16:12.540 a genuine male to female transition.

00:16:15.540 But if you look at people in the transgender community, they tend to blend in with the opposite 1.00

00:16:22.420 sex.

00:16:23.040 They're not, you know, becoming a grotesque caricature of a female.

00:16:27.000 They're not wearing drag queen regalia. 0.99

00:16:30.820 And so, you know, the question arises, why won't you investigate if this is someone who

00:16:38.620 is suffering from a sexual perversion and he's in front of minors?

00:16:42.160 So, again, as I said, Mr. Menzies, I know you're quite aware of privacy issues as far as around

00:16:53.040 members of staff of our board.

00:16:55.680 I am answering you as much as I can, but just know that all the information that we're getting,

00:17:00.040 we are using to find ways forward.

00:17:01.900 Well, we have filed an FOI request and your board wants $4,000 almost in order to hand

00:17:10.580 over the information regarding the files on Lemieux.

00:17:13.080 I have no idea why the cost would be that much.

00:17:16.600 These are all digital files.

00:17:18.720 It's not like someone's going down into a library.

00:17:22.880 So, again, Mr. Menzies, that sort of thing is out of my purview.

00:17:25.160 That's something that you're discussing with staff.

00:17:26.840 I don't know what's happened as far as that's concerned, but, again, I think with those

00:17:30.880 sort of questions, you might want to get in touch with Heather Francie at the board.

00:17:34.040 She'll be the one who'll be able to give you more information regarding those issues.

00:17:37.000 Oh, she never, that's your director of communications who never communicates, I'm afraid.

00:17:41.820 It's impossible to get a hold of Ms. Francie. 1.00

00:17:46.080 And as you know, for some reason, I guess asking impolite questions, I am banned from Halton

00:17:53.540 District School Board, property, your headquarters, your schools, with the threat of a trespass

00:17:59.860 charge.

00:18:00.520 Is this all about shutting down media that ask, oh, I don't know, impolite questions of this

00:18:06.760 person?

00:18:08.280 So, no, I don't think that's the case at all.

00:18:10.900 I do know that there was concerns as to your intent.

00:18:16.040 So, anything that we have done has been completely above board.

00:18:21.780 And, again, as I said, I'm happy to continue using the information that I have to find ways

00:18:27.260 forward.

00:18:27.960 That's all I can really tell you right now, Mr. Menzies.

00:18:29.980 I'm sorry.

00:18:30.700 So, in other words, the Halton District School Board is all down with radical transgenderism

00:18:35.600 as long as it's in front of the kids in class.

00:18:38.520 But when it's brought to your boardroom, you're not so down with radical transgenderism, are you?

00:18:45.540 You're now making inferences into what I am thinking, which is untrue and unfounded.

00:18:51.020 So, you know, I would really appreciate that if you're going to make statements that they're

00:18:54.780 based on fact rather than your suppositions.

00:18:57.460 Well, what else can it be?

00:18:59.220 I mean, you seem to be offended by the idea of these giant Zed cup fake breasts at your boardroom, 1.00

00:19:07.900 but you have no problem with them at the school.

00:19:10.140 You have no problem with Lemieux violating every shop etiquette rule in the book, jewelry,

00:19:16.720 long sleeves, long hair.

00:19:18.760 You have no problem, it would seem, with a student vaping in his class, of which we have

00:19:23.340 photographic evidence.

00:19:26.040 Is it one standard for regular people and another standard for transgendered so-called people? 0.99

00:19:32.580 Again, sir, so you currently are making assumptions, so not knowing what is actually happening.

00:19:39.880 So, as I said, if you want to research the fact that you're looking at, then maybe you

00:19:44.280 can find the correct answers to them.

00:19:46.120 How is that an assumption if we have photographic evidence of a child in violation of the Smoke

00:19:52.380 Free Ontario Act?

00:19:54.040 Right, so, but you're saying that there are no investigations and there are, so...

00:19:59.000 Oh, there is.

00:19:59.840 Okay, so, who's going to be prosecuted here?

00:20:04.860 Is it the child smoking or is it the teacher that allowed it to happen right beside him?

00:20:09.700 So, you know what, sir?

00:20:11.280 Again, you're now getting into that personal information that I'm unable to disclose to

00:20:14.760 you right now.

00:20:15.720 I can just tell you that there are investigations that are being looked into.

00:20:19.600 How is this person...

00:20:20.460 It's a matter of public record right now.

00:20:22.460 It's, I mean, this Oakville Trafalgar High School and this school board that you are

00:20:27.880 a member of, you've become a laughingstock the world over, and...

00:20:31.920 You know what, Mr. Nancy, I'm really, really sorry, but I'm actually in the middle of a

00:20:35.940 meeting right now, so if you want to connect at some later time, I might have more time

00:20:40.900 for you, but right now I have to let you go.

00:20:43.140 Okay, I'm used to that treatment from your school board, and I guess I'm banned for life.

00:20:48.900 Is that it, in terms of attending board meetings?

00:20:52.100 Because I don't want to get arrested, you see.

00:20:54.660 Right, yeah.

00:20:55.180 So, again, I would check that as far as documentation is concerned.

00:20:59.740 Have a great rest of your day.

00:21:00.900 As I said, if you want to organize a time to speak, we can set that up in the future.

00:21:10.980 Hello?

00:21:11.580 Oh, sorry.

00:21:12.600 I thought you had disconnected the call.

00:21:14.460 Yeah, no.

00:21:15.900 No, I don't do that, sir.

00:21:17.580 Okay, then.

00:21:18.880 No, I appreciate your time, then.

00:21:20.460 Thank you very much.

00:21:21.960 All right.

00:21:22.520 Have a great rest of your day.

00:21:23.500 Bye-bye.

00:21:24.160 Yeah, folks, I know Dr. Shuttleworth thinks of herself as the Khaleesi of the HDSB, but

00:21:30.180 it might come as a shock to her that she does not outrank the Minister of Education, Stephen

00:21:37.560 Lecce.

00:21:37.940 And yesterday, Minister Lecce said that the HDSB has not upheld expected professionalism

00:21:47.960 standards in dealing with Mr. Lemieux.

00:21:50.880 In an iPolitics story, Lecce states the following, quote,

00:21:54.920 I do continue to believe that the Halton District School Board, which is the employer, has an

00:22:02.100 obligation to ensure that these classrooms are safe and respectful places to work.

00:22:09.040 Teachers need to uphold, as I've noted, the highest professional standards when they're

00:22:14.940 in front of children, and so I do not believe the Board of Administration has done so to date.

00:22:21.900 Many families and communities have expressed concern with the management of this issue,

00:22:28.100 and so we reaffirm our expectation with the school boards as employers that they act in

00:22:34.580 the interest of children and they listen to the voices of families of the kids themselves

00:22:40.160 at various schools and parents who want their kids to go to school focused on learning and

00:22:48.020 not have to deal with threats of violence, lockdowns, or incidents that are very distracting

00:22:53.940 in any school environment, end quote.

00:22:58.360 Are you listening, Dr. Shuttleworth, someone who I've been told allegedly identifies as being 0.99

00:23:05.260 a horse-toothed jackass? And how about you, HDSB Director of Education Courtesan, is he, him? 0.96

00:23:13.940 Are you listening, Mr. He, Him? Again, to repeat the reminder issued via Minister Lecce yesterday,

00:23:22.720 you are supposed to act in the interest of children and families. Capisce?

00:23:28.740 By the way, when it comes to families, these are also people who identify as taxpayers. In other words,

00:23:36.760 the people who pay your salaries. A publicly funded school board is not some private club dedicated

00:23:44.800 to nonsensical wokeness. And you entitled educrats are not supposed to be the champion of a man who just

00:23:53.400 might very well be a sexual pervert. And you're doing all this entirely because of ideology 0.96

00:23:59.920 that resembles, oh, I don't know, Marxism. It's so far left. In the days ahead, we will see if the HDSB

00:24:09.100 even gives Minister Lecce the courtesy of a response. Or, hey, maybe they'll call the cops on Lecce. I mean,

00:24:17.700 we all know how sensitive the school board geniuses are when it comes to criticism.

00:24:24.820 But as always, hope abounds. For starters, we are crowdfunding the $4,000 fee the HDSB is demanding

00:24:34.580 we pay in order to fulfill our Freedom of Information requests. We want to see all the files pertaining to

00:24:43.360 Lemieux. We want to see what the HDSB is hiding from parents. If you'd like to chip in to help us

00:24:50.540 out, please go to protectthestudents.ca. As well, in response to the circus sideshow that is the

00:24:59.500 Busty Lemieux fiasco, a group of parents in Halton have formed an organization called Students First

00:25:07.540 Ontario. This group has a four-pronged mission statement. Number one, students' interests must

00:25:15.600 come first. Two, parents' voices matter. Three, teachers must act and dress professionally. And

00:25:27.000 four, a commitment to open inquiry, transparency, and accountability in education. Yeah, I know.

00:25:36.320 What a bunch of radicals, right? Anyway, I did speak with the organizer, Selena Close,

00:25:42.340 and she told me that there are now some 300 parents who are part of this group. As well,

00:25:49.300 the organization has retained a lawyer. So if the HDSB wants to play hardball, and they want to go

00:25:57.840 all in when it comes to protecting someone who might very well be a sexual pervert, then so be it.

00:26:05.260 The HDSB, in the months ahead, can tell it to the judge. It looks like finally Mama Bear

00:26:15.320 has woken up. And you want to know something? She is mightily pissed off. 1.00

00:26:21.160 Folks, are you feeling a little overwhelmed, and for that matter, a little overtaxed these days?

00:26:39.500 Well, it's for good reason. After all, according to the Fraser Institute, did you know that when you add up

00:26:45.940 income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, and all the other taxes, the average Canadian family pays

00:26:54.120 43% of its budget to taxes? 43%. And this probably won't shock you either. There are more tax increases

00:27:06.380 coming our way in 2023, such as payroll taxes, such as the mandatory Canada Pension Plan and

00:27:15.640 employment insurance payments. As well, there will be a carbon tax hike, because you know, we have to do

00:27:22.600 our part to save the planet. Oh, and if you're thinking about going into a drunken stupor to forget

00:27:28.340 about all of this taxation, I hate to break it to you folks, but liquor taxes, they're heading up next

00:27:35.100 year, too. Unbelievable. Talk about death by a thousand cuts. And joining me now with more on the

00:27:42.100 fiscal misery that will be heading our way in the days ahead is Franco Teresano, the federal director

00:27:50.180 of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, which has just released a report entitled 2023 New Year's Taxpayers.

00:27:59.320 Hey there, Franco. Welcome to the Ezra Levent Show. Thanks for having me on. It's always a pleasure,

00:28:05.180 my friend. Okay, so we have all sorts of taxes going up in the new year. And it's a safe bet that

00:28:12.120 inflation will continue in 2023. And of course, we can expect more interest rates to occur. Franco,

00:28:20.960 given all of this dire economic news, shouldn't the federal government be cutting taxes as opposed to

00:28:30.260 amping them up? Well, you would think so. But you'd be wrong. Because in 2023, the Trudeau government is

00:28:37.520 giving us the gift of five, five federal tax hikes. Okay, CPP tax, up. EI tax, up. The carbon tax,

00:28:45.860 up. Alcohol taxes, you guessed it, up. And the government is also imposing a second carbon tax

00:28:51.800 through fuel regulations in 2023. So more pain coming to Canadians from our federal government.

00:28:58.140 And you know, Franco, given the economy that we're in, as I mentioned, inflation, every time I go to

00:29:04.780 the grocery store, I pick up a basket of groceries. I go, that's about 50 bucks and it's $119 when I

00:29:11.560 check it out. Given the interest rates, there's still more hikes to come. I'm absolutely sure about

00:29:17.140 that. Even if these tax increases were for, you know, things of merit, couldn't the government back

00:29:25.720 away saying, we believe in, say, a carbon tax, we believe in, you know, our war on pollution,

00:29:31.760 as they call it, but now is not the right time because of all of this, you know, economic misery

00:29:38.600 going around. I mean, Franco, I met a person the other day, fully employed in Toronto. He went to the

00:29:44.680 food bank for the first time last week to help him make ends meet. Why can't they lay off on the

00:29:51.620 accelerator and give common Canadians a break? Well, it should have been a no brainer, a no

00:30:00.020 brainer. And I can't believe we have to say this out loud with our mouth, but it should have been a

00:30:04.040 no brainer for the federal government at the very least, when governments were locking down businesses,

00:30:09.420 when people were losing their job, when people were taking pay cuts, when small businesses were

00:30:14.280 worried that their savings wouldn't keep the lights on. It should have been a no brainer for

00:30:18.020 the federal government to at the very least not raise taxes. But we have seen taxes since the

00:30:22.860 beginning of COVID-19 or tax hikes. We have seen tax hikes as inflation has run rampant. And this year,

00:30:29.680 let's look at the payroll tax hikes that's going to be happening in 2023. Let's talk about the war

00:30:34.500 on work. Okay. So in 2023, if you're making $67,000 or more, you're going to be paying an extra about

00:30:41.960 300 bucks through the CPP and EI tax increases. Okay. An extra $300. That means a lot to people

00:30:52.600 like that's going to be a lot of pain, but even that increase downplays the actual pain from those

00:30:58.080 two payroll taxes. In 2023, if you're making $67,000 or more in total, you're going to be paying

00:31:05.200 about $4,700 to the government through payroll taxes, while your employer will have to cough up

00:31:12.120 an extra $5,100 to the government through those payroll taxes. And David, we're not talking about

00:31:17.780 fat cats here. We're talking about people making $67,000 or more. That's a ton of pain.

00:31:24.600 Oh, no, you're absolutely right about that, Franco. And you know, I hearken back to the late,

00:31:29.840 great mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, I thought he had one of the best election slogans of all time for

00:31:36.320 that matter, namely respect for taxpayers. And what he meant, Franco, is that it, it wasn't a revenue

00:31:43.520 problem that governments have. It's a spending problem. In other words, they're spending our 0.71

00:31:49.160 tax dollars on so many crazy things. I mean, Justin Trudeau has been flying around the world recently,

00:31:55.580 giving hundreds of millions of dollars to whatever cause he finds worthy. Why? Why is the federal

00:32:03.180 government funding the mainstream media to the tune of more than $600 million a year? And of course,

00:32:09.040 twas ever thus, more than a billion a year for the CBC? I mean, surely, this is where the government

00:32:16.120 can make cuts so that they are beholden to the stakeholders, i.e. you and I and all our viewers,

00:32:23.500 the taxpayers of this nation. Oh, let's let's talk about all the waste. Okay, let's get even

00:32:30.000 further. I mean, this isn't this is just really the tip of the iceberg of the waste. But this will

00:32:33.680 boil your blood. Are you ready for it? Okay, here we go. So someone in the government, who was it?

00:32:38.360 The governor general says it wasn't her. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won't say who it was.

00:32:42.940 Someone in the government billed taxpayers $6,000 a night for a single hotel room during the Queen's

00:32:49.420 funeral. $6,000 per night. Okay, now let's talk about the governor general. Her and her entourage

00:32:55.740 spent nearly six figures on fancy airplane food during a week-long trip to the Middle East.

00:33:02.920 Six figures, nearly six figures. They enjoyed beef wellington. They enjoyed beef carpaccio.

00:33:07.520 They enjoyed pork stuffed tenderloin. What value did taxpayers get? The entire trip ended up costing more

00:33:14.380 than a million dollars. One week, more than $1 million. The list goes on and on and on. The federal

00:33:20.560 government spent $8,000 on a sex toy show in Germany. Yeah, you heard that right. And David,

00:33:28.100 you know, maybe I'm a little old fashioned. But if the Germans want to have their own sex toy 1.00

00:33:32.580 extravaganzas, let them pay for it themselves. Okay, and that's the little things. But the government, 0.99

00:33:38.420 the government is also getting the big things wrong. The federal government gave 300,000 federal

00:33:44.160 government employees a pay raise during the pandemic while their neighbors in the private

00:33:49.360 sector were losing their job while they were losing their business. And then there's so many different

00:33:54.580 examples of corporate welfare, right? The hundreds and millions of dollars given to the Ford Motor

00:33:59.120 Company or Bombardier, right? That's not helping Canadians. That's just corporate welfare. So you're

00:34:05.540 absolutely right. The fact is that the government wastes so much money and Canadians are paying too much

00:34:11.080 tax because the government wastes too much money. You know, it's outrageous. And we should touch upon

00:34:16.980 the double standard here, Franco. In the beginning of your answer, you were talking about all the money

00:34:22.600 that the government was spending on flights, on meals, on hotel rooms. And believe me, they weren't

00:34:29.660 staying at the Motel 6. That's quite evident when you're paying those kind of rates. And yet I think

00:34:35.780 back to yesterday, poor Miss Bev Oda, she lost her political career over a $16 glass of orange juice. 0.99

00:34:43.680 That was front page news. But all of these latest egregious spending sprees, this government seems to

00:34:51.740 be made of Teflon. They seem to get a pass. Or maybe that's directly related, Franco, to the fact that

00:34:58.420 they're propping up the mainstream media with our tax dollars. So you kind of go easy when it comes to

00:35:04.620 blowing the whistle on your sugar daddy, I guess. Well, let's talk about the CBC for a second, right?

00:35:10.280 More than a billion dollars every single year from the taxpayer. But you want to hear what really

00:35:14.820 boils my blood in some recent findings? The CBC handed out $51 million in bonuses and pay raises

00:35:23.360 during the pandemic. $51 million in bonuses and raises during the pandemic. The fiscal update

00:35:28.760 is giving this CBC an extra $42 million to cope with the pandemic. What do you mean cope with the

00:35:36.400 pandemic? They just had enough money lying around to handle $51 million in bonuses and raises. But the gravy

00:35:42.760 train doesn't stop there when it comes to crown corporations in Ottawa. Let's talk about the Bank of

00:35:48.060 Canada. They have one job. One job. Keep inflation low around 2%. They completely failed to do their job.

00:35:55.220 So what did the Bank of Canada do during the pandemic? They handed out $45 million in bonuses

00:36:00.980 and raises. Isn't that something? Isn't that a way to hold your organization accountable? That when you

00:36:07.260 fail, when you increase prices of gasoline and ground beef on Canadians, you go out and you give $45

00:36:14.900 million worth of bonuses and raises. So, Franco, what you're saying when it comes to the federal

00:36:19.420 government and federal institutions, you fail upwards here. You get things wrong. You make a

00:36:27.620 mockery of the policy and you're still going to get a bonus. This is incredible to me to begin with.

00:36:35.300 Why is there such a culture of entitlement, Franco? It used to be you made a sacrifice. I'm talking many

00:36:42.800 decades ago, of course, when you went into public service, you were doing just that. You were giving a

00:36:48.240 service to the public. You weren't going to, you know, get a double digit wage increases and a gold

00:36:55.540 plated pension. You're making a sacrifice for your province or for your country. It's not that anymore,

00:37:01.480 is it? Because it looks like from what you're saying, even when you're incompetent in the job,

00:37:07.140 you're going to keep it. And what's more, you're going to get a raise and a bonus.

00:37:10.380 Well, it certainly feels, at least, that public servants are really public servants in name only,

00:37:17.120 right? Doesn't it feel like it's really us working for them sometimes, especially what happened during

00:37:24.040 pandemics and lockdowns, right? The tale of two downturns during the pandemic where people in the

00:37:28.860 private sector absolutely took it on the chin, lost their job, took pay cuts, maybe even lost their

00:37:34.180 business while people behind the golden government gates benefited financially. Politicians, three

00:37:42.020 pay raises during the pandemic. We talk about the bonuses, the pay raises for CBC, for the Bank of

00:37:48.320 Canada. There's other crown corporations that were giving themselves bonuses and pay raises as well.

00:37:52.980 The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, tens of millions of dollars, bonuses, pay raises,

00:37:58.560 when people couldn't afford to buy homes. The Destination Canada, the crown corporation that

00:38:04.120 tasked with marketing Canada's tourism industry, were giving themselves bonuses and raises while

00:38:11.500 people weren't allowed to come to Canada. I mean, there's reason people are frustrated. People have

00:38:15.900 every right to be frustrated. And now, 2023, the year of the tax hike, we're losing more money because

00:38:22.740 of CPP tax, EI tax, carbon tax, second carbon tax. And if all that drives you to drink, well, too bad,

00:38:29.420 because the Trudeau government's taking more money from your pocket there as well. Every time you go get

00:38:33.780 that bottle of wine, that case of Keith's, or every time you just want to get some rum to enjoy with

00:38:38.920 your Coke, the government is taking more money from you there as well. It's absolutely incredible.

00:38:44.360 And what you say is so true. I mean, what we've seen the last two years, Franco, I think that the

00:38:48.980 phrase, we're all in this together, that has superseded the check is in the mail as the greatest lie

00:38:55.460 uttered in the history of mankind. Last question, I guess, Franco, I'm personally a fan of tax cuts,

00:39:02.100 reduce taxation, because if I have a little more green in my genes, so to speak, maybe what I'm

00:39:07.660 going to do is buy that big appliance or go to the local tailors and buy that new suit that I've had

00:39:14.200 my eye on. One thing I won't be doing with that money is sending a check off to Berlin for some

00:39:19.420 German sex toy show. I can guarantee you that. So I think it's win-win. I'm going to do better. 0.87

00:39:25.380 The local merchants are going to do better. What say you, my friend?

00:39:30.180 Cut taxes down. Stop wasting so much money. Start cutting taxes. And the government could do it if

00:39:35.860 it wasn't just spending money like crazy. Let me give you an example, okay? Back in April,

00:39:40.940 Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said she would spend $452 billion in this year's budget.

00:39:46.720 Fast forward to the mid-year budget update seven months later, and now Freeland says she's going

00:39:51.380 to spend $472 billion. Did you catch that? In seven months, somehow, Freeland is on track to spend

00:39:59.900 $20 billion over budget. $20 billion over her big spending budget. Now, let me put that into

00:40:06.500 perspective for you. If Freeland just kept to her own spending in her own budget, there'd be enough 1.00

00:40:12.380 money left over to cut the sales tax from 5% to 3% and still lower the deficit.

00:40:17.220 But Franco, didn't you hear? Freeland is keeping an eye on her own budget. I think she canceled her

00:40:24.340 Disney Plus subscription. I guess that's part and parcel of how the budget will balance itself,

00:40:31.300 I imagine. Oh, well. Well, Franco, regardless of the misery that awaits in the new year, 0.80

00:40:37.700 I do want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. You're doing great work there,

00:40:43.380 and thank you for being that watchdog in Ottawa that we so desperately need when it comes to

00:40:49.880 out-of-control spending. Thank you so much, Franco. Thanks for having me on. You got it.

00:40:55.960 And that was Franco Teresano, the Director of the Canadian Taxpayer Federation. Folks,

00:41:01.060 keep it here. More of the Ezreal Event Show to come right after this.

00:41:04.720 Well, folks, tons of feedback about my monologue on Friday's Ezreal Event Show. I discussed the issue

00:41:22.340 of that Irish teacher, a teacher who is behind bars right now. How did his trouble start? Well,

00:41:28.460 it goes back to his school. There was a student transitioning, and this teacher refused to refer

00:41:35.120 to him as they instead of him. And eventually, well, he's now behind bars. Unbelievable. In any event,

00:41:45.240 lots of mail to get to on this. Discus Meniscus writes, this isn't about respecting someone's hurt

00:41:52.300 feelings. It's about power. You are absolutely right, my friend. And you know, the funny thing about

00:41:58.100 power. When strong men and strong women are empowered, they don't act as bullies. You know

00:42:05.180 who acts as the bullies, folks? It's the weak men and women that are given power. Those people 0.95

00:42:11.520 are the problem. Conscious Conservatives writes, this is beyond chilling. What Jordan Peterson predicted

00:42:20.380 on the steps of U of T four years ago has become reality. You know, you're absolutely right. And I think

00:42:26.480 it was more than four years ago. I think it was around 2016, if memory serves. But Jordan Peterson

00:42:32.000 was taking a stand against compelled speech. And when you think of it, folks, I think compelled speech

00:42:39.800 might even be worse than censorship. I mean, censorship, you are prevented from reading or

00:42:45.760 seeing a certain thing. Compelled speech is you will say this or else. And in some cases,

00:42:51.860 the or else means going to prison. Unbelievable. James Cagney writes, Franz Jaguslater was a brave man

00:43:00.040 from Austria who simply needed to swear an oath to Hitler. But he would not because loyalty to that 0.52

00:43:07.820 regime would be to deny objective truth of the sacredness of humanity. He was jailed and finally

00:43:16.460 executed for this act. He was an ordinary farmer. This Irishman is another ordinary man who is standing

00:43:24.280 up for objective truth. Why not just say them for he or she so easy? Or is it? The Irish, however, 1.00

00:43:35.120 do have a weapon, the hunger strike. Nothing scares authorities in Ireland more than this. It is

00:43:42.020 unfortunate, but may be necessary. Well, I don't know if Mr. Burke is going to go on a hunger strike.

00:43:49.720 What I would like to see is that the rest of us, and I am talking 99.9999% of the planet that don't

00:43:59.880 really believe in this gender identity and pronoun nonsense. Why don't we just stand up? Why don't we 0.99

00:44:09.060 just collectively say the emperor has no clothes? Or is that too a thought crime in certain circles

00:44:17.220 these days? Absolutely unbelievable. Well, folks, that wraps up the Ezra Levent Show. Thank you so

00:44:22.980 much for joining me. The Big Boss Man will be back in this chair tomorrow. In the meantime, as always,

00:44:28.720 stay safe and stay sane.

00:44:31.060 Hey, we need to get back, man. This is a fact.

00:44:34.600 Please. It's very popular.

00:44:37.280 Get back.

00:44:39.200 Don't listen.

00:44:39.840 Get back.

00:44:42.480 Get back.

00:44:44.480 Hey, guys. Katie Davis Court here for Rebel News. I'm in El Paso at the U.S. southern border wall,

00:44:58.000 and I'm going to show you guys how easy it is to illegally enter into the United States. The

00:45:04.280 borders, well, they are wide open. But before I get started, head on over to rebelborderreports.com.

00:45:11.280 We rely on crowdfunding, as it is the only way to deliver you guys the truth and keep our

00:45:17.460 independent journalism going. So rebelborderreports.com, where you can help offset our travel costs

00:45:22.880 here in El Paso. But here we are in El Paso at the U.S. southern border. It's wide open. And let's

00:45:29.700 take a look. We have the border wall behind us with the real Grand River in between and then a

00:45:35.120 fencing that is wide open. But let me show you something.

00:45:41.280 If you look over here at the border wall, there is a grate that has been removed, and the legal

00:45:56.760 immigrants are easily coming through that grate. It's not secured. But they actually don't even 1.00

00:46:02.400 have to go down and cross the Rio Grande River. They can come along the wall right here and enter

00:46:09.200 through this hole in this fence, and boom, you are in the United States. And that is what we saw

00:46:15.920 earlier today when we drove along the freeway. We saw a group of children standing alongside the

00:46:21.760 highway who just illegally entered this way into the United States. So take a look at that footage.

00:46:26.800 Don't listen. Hey, get back, man. This is a fact. Please. Try it properly. Get back.

00:46:42.480 Don't listen. Get back. Get back. Get back.

00:46:48.800 We have been here for about two days traveling along the highway, and we see illegal immigrants waiting,

00:47:14.560 waiting on the side of the border to illegally enter into the United States. And earlier today,

00:47:19.600 when we got here, we saw a group of illegal immigrant children on the highway who just entered

00:47:24.880 through here. So the borders, they are wide open. Something needs to be done about this. This is an

00:47:32.000 invasion. Even if Title 42 is halted, it's not going to make much of a difference because the invasion is

00:47:38.560 happening, even with it being in place. I'm Katie Davis-Gart for Rebel News. If you enjoyed our

00:47:43.520 coverage, please go to rebelborderreports.com, where you can help offset our travel costs here

00:47:48.720 in El Paso. This is the biggest story in America right now, and it is not being reported on as it

00:47:55.040 should be. So we're here to deliver you guys the truth, and you can help us at rebelborderreports.com.

00:48:00.800 Thank you, guys. Oh, and look right here. Look right here. We got a group of illegal immigrants with their 1.00

00:48:07.280 children. Hola. ¿Dónde son?

00:48:13.840 They're passing by, so I guess we will see where they're headed.

Rebel News Podcast - December 21, 2022

EZRA LEVANT ｜ Another wrinkle in the infamous Busty Lemieux saga

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