Rebel News Podcast - EZRA LEVANT ｜ Calgary’s city hall continues to ban protests — but only conservative protests. Who will stop them？

00:00:00.000 Hello, my friends. It's a Civil Liberties special. Today, we talk about a new bylaw in Calgary

00:00:04.600 that would make it a, not a crime, but a serious offense punishable by $10,000 fine and a year in

00:00:11.460 jail for, quote, disapproving, unquote, of an idea, unquote, including LGBTQ2S plus ideas.

00:00:25.200 If you think I'm exaggerating, I will read you verbatim the bylaw, and I'll talk to

00:00:29.660 Pastor Derek Reimer's lawyer, who is on the case, and we've got a feature interview with him. That's

00:00:36.920 ahead, but first, let me invite you to become a subscriber to Rebel News Plus. It's the video

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00:01:05.660 at rebelnewsplus.com. All right, here's today's podcast.

00:01:21.120 Tonight, Calgary City Hall continues to ban conservative protests, but only conservative

00:01:30.600 protests. Who will stop them? It's March 14th, and this is the Ezra LeVant Show.

00:01:35.900 You fighting for freedom! Shame on you, you censorious bug!

00:01:51.120 Yesterday, we talked with Tracy Wilson of the Firearms Coalition about an interesting idea

00:01:56.260 by the provincial government in Alberta to stop Justin Trudeau's gun laws. To do that,

00:02:02.040 they're introducing their own gun laws, and the legal theory is that while actual crimes are a

00:02:08.140 matter of federal jurisdiction under our Canadian constitution, property and civil rights and

00:02:13.720 other things that would touch on a gun registry for non-criminals, that's a provincial matter for

00:02:19.160 provinces under our constitution. So if a province were to pass pro-gun laws first, Justin Trudeau's

00:02:27.740 anti-gun laws would be overridden. I like the theory. I'm not sure how it would actually shake

00:02:33.860 out in our courts, which are more liberal and activist than ever, despite Stephen Harper having

00:02:39.320 appointed so many of those judges. I just don't think Stephen Harper cared enough about who he put

00:02:44.000 on the court. In the U.S., it is often the most important legacy of any president. Donald Trump's

00:02:49.520 Supreme Court appointments may well be his most enduring impact on America, and certainly they

00:02:55.480 were outstanding picks by him. Harper, I don't think, even cared. He delegated that to his justice

00:03:00.600 ministers, who didn't care either. Those judges are our real masters in Canada, and you can't fire

00:03:06.660 them, can you? But hey, let me tell you what's going on in Calgary today, even as I speak. Pastor

00:03:13.840 Derek Reimer had a quick court appearance through his lawyer today, just administrative matters. I'll

00:03:21.780 talk a little bit more about that. I should tell you that the Democracy Fund has hired a lawyer named

00:03:27.920 Ben Allison to represent Pastor Reimer. And if you want to help out, go to SavePastorDerek.com

00:03:35.660 and like all civil liberties cases handled by the Democracy Fund, you get a charitable tax receipt.

00:03:41.280 So we knew that was happening. We've known that for a few weeks. It was outrageous. Pastor Derek

00:03:46.100 went to one of these drag queen story hours for children of tender years, and he verbally disrupted

00:03:53.520 it. He heckled. And so they physically picked him up and threw him out the door. I'm sorry,

00:04:00.460 that's an assault. That's just way overreacting. They weren't security guards. They weren't police.

00:04:06.720 They weren't owners of the facility. They were just people at a library. They didn't like them. They

00:04:10.740 threw him out. Remember the video? Take a look.

00:04:12.460 Yeah, he went to jail. And he served more time already in jail for that heckle than many actual

00:04:38.880 criminals serve in Canada. Well, the City Hall in Calgary is not pleased enough with the jail term

00:04:46.400 that Derek Reimer has received. And they're not pleased with the fact that there's anyone who

00:04:53.340 would dare to dissent with drag queen story hour to begin with. So today, City Hall went at it again.

00:05:00.980 I think they went crazy. When I say crazy, they're just, there's such a group thing. There's such an

00:05:07.200 echo chamber there, and there's so little opposition or dissent there. The media is so

00:05:11.720 submissive there that they don't hear any other point of view. They just think everyone, of course,

00:05:16.600 we agree we have to censor dissenting voices. Of course, we're going to censor anyone who disapproves

00:05:21.280 of our point of view because they're hateful. We're not hate. We hate them, but we're not hateful.

00:05:26.420 They're hateful. Reminder, here's the mayor of that city. Jodi Gondek is her name.

00:05:32.360 Just laying it right out there. She's not even pretending to care about civil liberty. She's not even 1.00

00:05:37.140 pretending that this is some neutral, nonpartisan rule. She is saying, as plainly as can be in her

00:05:44.980 official capacity as mayor, this is about silencing the people she hates, about peaceful protesters 0.98

00:05:51.080 and critics. The things she lists here are not crimes, but she's going to silence them using the

00:05:57.960 police. Remember this? We had a drag brunch at the rec room in the north of Calgary by our community

00:06:05.960 of drag queens in Calgary who have done amazing work promoting inclusion and really raising awareness

00:06:13.580 of how important it is to be a welcoming community. Unfortunately, some members of our population

00:06:19.740 thought it would be a good idea to protest this event, which is, I'm just going to use my opinion,

00:06:24.880 a horrible thing to do. I was very happy that CPS was there to provide a buffer and to ensure that

00:06:31.120 everyone was safe and that the show could go on. My question is, do we have the ability when a protest

00:06:37.460 is rooted in hatred to ticket people and shut this down? How does it work?

00:06:47.120 Mayor Gondek, I will seek to answer that question. I am responsible, of course, as the general manager

00:06:55.420 for community services for our bylaw work. And so it would be a bylaw that we would be pursuing that way.

00:07:03.140 I imagine that there's some complexity to defining what we anticipate to have happen at protests. And

00:07:11.460 so I don't feel like I have the crisp answer that I would like to. Right now, I'm happy to look into

00:07:16.860 that. And I will send a note to all members of council when we have a good, clear answer to your

00:07:22.220 question. Thank you, GM Black. I appreciate that. I didn't expect you to have an answer immediately,

00:07:27.200 but I do appreciate that you will look into it. We cannot have this kind of intolerance and hatred

00:07:32.060 in our city. So thank you for pursuing it. Well, that bylaw became the law. And I believe that's

00:07:38.560 actually one of the things that Derek Reimer is charged under. But apparently that is not enough

00:07:44.460 for the mayor or city council, because let me read to you from their agenda from today's

00:07:50.060 city hall agenda, hundreds of pages of notes. Let me quote to you from the bylaw that was

00:07:56.580 introduced today. I'll quote to you. This bylaw may be cited as the safe and inclusive access bylaw.

00:08:05.760 Well, Orwell would have a field day. You saw how safe Pastor Derek was. He was physically thrown out

00:08:12.460 and he was not included because he doesn't agree with drag queen story hour for children of tender

00:08:20.280 years. So it's not safe and it's not inclusive, but it is bylaw. It only bans protests that the

00:08:27.460 government doesn't like. You heard Jodi Gondek. Now it's quite a trick to do that in a law. It's quite

00:08:32.700 a trick to write a law that will only be used to hurt your enemies because what happens when the other

00:08:38.900 side is in power. Of course, it's a lot easier when you control all the levers of power, which City

00:08:47.420 Hall often does. They control City Hall. They control the physical plant. They control the libraries and

00:08:53.280 the rec centers physically. They control the police. For a moment there, Calgary police resisted

00:08:59.180 arresting Derek Reimer until the mayor went on a tantrum, a rant on Twitter, and then they just bent to her 0.62

00:09:04.720 will. When you control all the factors, you can write a biased law and it will have the effect

00:09:11.760 you want. Really every institution, you know, the saying you can't fight City Hall. There's a reason

00:09:16.440 that's a saying because they have all the angles covered. Normally politicians pretend that their

00:09:23.580 law isn't just targeting their enemies. That's a real Venezuela move to do that. I mean, Justin Trudeau did

00:09:28.760 that in the Emergencies Act. But they're not even pretending in Calgary. So they are, and I'll read

00:09:35.620 to you more from the bylaw of who will be banned. But as I do so, think, could this same bylaw be used

00:09:43.680 to ban Black Lives Matter protesters or Idle No More protesters or even just labor unions on strike,

00:09:53.480 on a picket line, or certainly any of the environmental movement, not that they're having a lot of rallies

00:09:58.920 in Calgary. But no, this will never be applied to the heroes of the left, certainly not against Antifa

00:10:07.600 or any violent people, just Christian pastors. Here, let me read from section 2.1.g of the bylaw 0.53

00:10:17.480 called definitions. And look at what they're banning. They're not banning protests. That would

00:10:24.120 be too crazy. I think even the nut bars in Calgary City Hall would say, no, we just can't do that.

00:10:30.500 So they're banning what they call specified protests, just only certain kinds of protests. They

00:10:37.600 think this will make it Charter of Rights compliant. So here's how they define specified protests. This is

00:10:43.920 what they're going to ban. Specified protest means an expression of objection or disapproval

00:10:52.720 towards an idea or action related to race, religious beliefs, color, gender, gender identity,

00:11:02.460 gender expression, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital

00:11:06.880 status, source of income, family status, or sexual orientation by any means, including graphic,

00:11:12.280 verbal, or written means, but does not include messaging at an event scheduled by a library or

00:11:18.380 rec facility. So you can't disapprove of an idea. Did you catch that? If you object to an idea,

00:11:26.540 if you disapprove of an idea, that was the first thing they said. It's just going to be an idea

00:11:30.620 or people or the, you cannot disapprove or disagree. You must approve of the drag queen story hour.

00:11:41.080 You must approve of it or be silent. You cannot oppose or criticize. That's the actual language

00:11:48.440 here. Nothing to do with violence or threats or crimes. Those are already covered. This is pure

00:11:53.980 thought control. Disapproval is an idea. It's a thought. It's some words. That is now banned. But did

00:12:02.060 you notice that the library itself, which is controlled by the city, can have gatherings like drag queen story

00:12:09.540 hour for young kids, where they can disapprove of things? Did you notice that weird exception? Because

00:12:16.280 an obvious response would be, well, those people at that library, I didn't see Pastor Derek doing the

00:12:22.800 heckling in there, but I certainly saw the pro-trans drag queen people showing their disapproval by 0.84

00:12:31.280 physically throwing a man out of the public library. But that is specifically exempted. Anything that

00:12:37.680 their side does in the library is exempted. Isn't that crazy? I'm going to read section 3.1 of the

00:12:46.040 bylaw. I'll give you a little bit more. A person must not engage in specified protest on publicly

00:12:52.140 accessible property within 100 meters of an entrance to a recreation facility or a library. A person must not

00:13:00.180 engage in specified protest anywhere inside a recreation facility. A person must not physically impede or

00:13:08.880 attempt to impede the passage of a person to or from an entrance to a recreation facility or library.

00:13:15.920 And they have all these maps where they have these color-coded zones for banning free speech.

00:13:23.740 You have just, uh, like circles. It's like a bullseye. And if you're standing one meter too close,

00:13:31.960 get ready to go to prison. Now, what would happen to this woman in the United Kingdom who was within 0.85

00:13:38.440 100 meters of some public place? Just take a look at this excerpt from this video in the UK.

00:13:43.480 You do not have to say anything. It may harm your defense if you do not mention one question.

00:13:48.060 Something that you later are in court. Anything you do say may be given you more.

00:13:51.460 Uh, what are you here for today?

00:13:53.760 Uh, physically I'm just standing here.

00:13:55.840 Okay.

00:13:56.220 Why here of all places? I know you don't live nearby.

00:13:59.400 But this is an abortion something. 0.83

00:14:01.000 Okay. That's why I just, is you standing here part of the protest?

00:14:05.100 No.

00:14:06.180 I'm not protesting.

00:14:07.060 Are you praying?

00:14:08.120 I might be praying in my head.

00:14:09.360 I'm not mad.

00:14:10.060 Um, so I'll, I'll ask you once more, will you voluntarily come with us now to the police

00:14:15.100 station for me to ask you some questions about today and other days where there are allegations

00:14:20.380 that you've broken the public spaces protection order?

00:14:23.640 Uh, if I've got a choice, then no.

00:14:25.620 Okay.

00:14:26.200 Well, then you're under arrest.

00:14:27.700 Okay.

00:14:27.840 I'm suspicion of failing to comply with the public spaces protection order, which is under

00:14:31.900 the Antisocial Behaviour Common Policy Act 2014.

00:14:35.260 Now, of course, again, you do not have to say anything.

00:14:37.340 It may harm your defense if you do not mention one question.

00:14:39.260 And some of which you later on in court, you do say maybe give him a divorce.

00:14:42.900 Do you understand the caution?

00:14:44.200 I don't know.

00:14:45.580 So she was silently praying in her mind.

00:14:49.520 And then a cop came up to her and said, what are you doing?

00:14:53.520 And she said, I'm praying in my mind.

00:14:54.840 So until that moment, he didn't know what she was thinking.

00:14:58.700 And then she said, I'm thinking, I'm praying against what's going on here.

00:15:03.960 In that case, it was an abortion clinic. 0.83

00:15:06.020 And so he arrested her because she told him what she was thinking.

00:15:08.580 So I think that same woman in Calgary, if she was totally silent and didn't have any

00:15:15.300 writing on her, could go within 100 meters of a library or rec center.

00:15:21.920 But if someone said, why are you here?

00:15:24.880 And she answered, then she could be arrested because you don't have to make a fuss. 1.00

00:15:29.300 You don't have to commit a crime.

00:15:30.780 You don't have to threaten anyone or even insult anyone.

00:15:33.060 All you have to do is disapprove or object to an idea.

00:15:39.040 And you've just committed an offense.

00:15:41.200 And let me describe that by reading section six of the bylaw.

00:15:45.640 Any person who contravenes any provision in this bylaw by doing any act or thing which the person is

00:15:51.700 prohibited from doing or by failing to do any act or thing the person is required to do is guilty of an offense

00:15:58.660 pursuant to this bylaw.

00:16:00.500 And then 6.2 says any person who is convicted of an offense pursuant to this bylaw is liable on summary

00:16:06.840 conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year or both.

00:16:15.820 $10,000 bucks or prison or both for objecting, for disapproving to an idea.

00:16:22.580 You know, when I was looking for the text of this bylaw, I went on Google, as I often do,

00:16:27.060 and I just simply typed in the word draft Calgary bylaw.

00:16:30.500 I just typed in those three words.

00:16:32.280 And so many bylaws popped up.

00:16:35.700 Now, you would think that there would be bylaws about zoning, about buildings, about garbage pickup,

00:16:40.920 about police, about pets, all the things that are the stuff of life of a city bylaw.

00:16:46.280 Bylaws are very low-level laws. 0.97

00:16:48.560 They're not federal crimes or international treaties.

00:16:51.960 But look what popped up.

00:16:53.480 You just type in Calgary bylaw.

00:16:55.660 That city has a reputation, at least on Google, for censoring and banning things.

00:17:01.220 Here's a story that popped up, first page on Google, when I typed in Calgary Draft Bylaw.

00:17:05.300 This is from February 2020.

00:17:07.100 This is the CBC State Broadcaster.

00:17:10.540 Calgary Council unanimously votes to draft bylaw banning LGBT conversion therapy.

00:17:18.600 Calgary City Council has unanimously voted to support a conversion therapy ban,

00:17:23.200 with many counselors sharing their personal feelings.

00:17:26.800 Monday on the controversial practice.

00:17:28.880 So we're having some feelings-based laws.

00:17:31.720 I don't know if it's constitutional for some city councilors to ban private religious or healthcare

00:17:39.060 or psychological treatments, but they don't really care.

00:17:42.280 It was unanimous.

00:17:43.160 And I find that very telling, that everything in Calgary is a group thing.

00:17:47.360 There's no one dissenting.

00:17:48.380 There's no one saying, is that even within our constitutional power to do that?

00:17:53.300 No one is saying, is there nothing more important for us to do?

00:17:56.060 And no one is saying, does everyone in this city have to absolutely agree with us?

00:18:02.240 And if they dare disapprove or object to our idea, again, I'm using language from the bylaw,

00:18:07.180 they have to go to jail.

00:18:08.380 Like, what is wrong with that city?

00:18:10.080 Why is Calgary the most censorious city in the country?

00:18:13.540 I typed in Draft Calgary Bylaw, and this popped up, too, from just November 2022.

00:18:18.020 This was incredible to me.

00:18:20.540 City halted draft bylaw restricting how graphic anti-abortion flyers are distributed in Calgary.

00:18:27.180 Calgary City Council has voted, again, unanimously to crack down on graphic anti-abortion flyers.

00:18:33.840 Council's asking city administration to draft a bylaw that would put restrictions on how pamphlets

00:18:37.700 with graphic images of aborted fetuses are distributed.

00:18:40.520 Pure censorship, and only for pro-life material.

00:18:49.000 Nothing else will be banned.

00:18:50.940 Certainly not sexuality, not half-naked drag queens talking to kids. 1.00

00:18:56.440 That kind of graphic stuff is A-OK on city property.

00:19:00.540 Just stuff that the city council doesn't like.

00:19:03.640 Isn't that crazy?

00:19:04.360 And this week, this week, the story about what I'm talking about today.

00:19:10.140 This was just, let me quote to you from this CTV story.

00:19:15.960 Proposed safe and inclusive bylaw to protect LGBTQ2 plus community to be debated Tuesday.

00:19:26.920 A series of protests against drag queens story hours in recent weeks has made the City of Calgary act

00:19:31.320 to try and stop them.

00:19:32.880 Described as protests of hate by Mayor Jody Gondek, the city's asking that council immediately approve

00:19:38.660 the new safe and inclusive access bylaw.

00:19:41.260 It would ensure that any event taking place inside a city's facilities, such as public libraries

00:19:44.940 or city-owned or affiliated rec centers, like the YMCA, a 100-meter buffer zone,

00:19:49.540 will be in place to stop any protests.

00:19:52.020 Any person who contravenes the law is guilty of defense pursuant to this proposed bylaw.

00:19:56.720 If convicted, they can face a fine up to $10,000 and or one year in prison.

00:20:00.140 So this is basically what I've just read you.

00:20:03.200 What's interesting to me is not, it's quite a lengthy story, but there's not a single point of view

00:20:08.980 quoted against the idea.

00:20:11.160 Not one.

00:20:11.780 Not from a civil liberties point of view.

00:20:13.940 Not from a, you know, Christian point of view. 0.82

00:20:17.020 People who they're obviously targeting.

00:20:18.440 Not from a conservative point of view.

00:20:20.400 It's just all unanimous.

00:20:23.020 You know, their political media industrial complex.

00:20:25.660 They all agree that if you're pro-life and against abortion, you're a bad person, you have 0.52

00:20:31.600 to be censored.

00:20:32.360 If you're worried about drag queen story hours sexualizing children of young years, well, 0.99

00:20:37.440 you're an evil person, you have to be censored. 0.98

00:20:38.980 There is no disagreement in the entire complex there. 0.99

00:20:43.680 But look at that photo of Pastor Derek being thrown out of the room.

00:20:48.160 That photo is a good photo.

00:20:49.820 It's an interesting photo.

00:20:50.840 But look at the caption.

00:20:53.240 Derek Reimer, a street church pastor.

00:20:56.620 It's true.

00:20:57.320 They put street church in there to diminish him, I think.

00:21:00.180 Was removed.

00:21:02.160 I love that.

00:21:02.900 He was removed.

00:21:03.580 Not picked up and thrown out or assaulted.

00:21:05.800 He was removed.

00:21:07.700 After disrupting, he did indeed disrupt, a, get this is my favorite part, a family friendly

00:21:14.720 reading with royalty event, family friendly.

00:21:20.260 Is that news or is that opinion there on a photo caption?

00:21:23.420 Family friendly.

00:21:26.420 Reading with royalty event.

00:21:28.920 Why don't they say drag queen story hour? 1.00

00:21:31.220 Why don't they say drag queen? 1.00

00:21:32.280 Reading with royalty.

00:21:33.500 You know, I, um, I've taken the kids to Disneyland and there are Disney princesses everywhere.

00:21:41.000 Family friendly, um, reading with royalty event sounds like a Disney princess meet and greet

00:21:49.400 where they talk about Snow White or Sleeping Beauty.

00:21:54.420 Calling a, an event where grown men were revealing clothes while dressed up as women do sexual dances.

00:22:02.840 I don't know if they're dancing at these story hours.

00:22:04.700 I haven't seen footage from the inside.

00:22:07.400 Family friendly story, uh, reading with royalty event.

00:22:10.800 I, I, like I say, there's a political amenia unanimity here.

00:22:18.080 So let me tell you what a justice of the peace ordered when Derek Reimer was picked up, thrown out,

00:22:25.980 put in prison for a week.

00:22:28.080 The justice of the peace who let him go, let him go with these conditions.

00:22:32.000 And I think this is exclusive to us and we're the first to have this document.

00:22:35.800 So this is the conditions by which Pastor Derek was released.

00:22:41.560 I think this is fascinating.

00:22:43.840 He has a $3,000, um, bail surety, I think it's called.

00:22:47.980 But look at this.

00:22:50.580 Except when in court or through legal counsel, you must have no contact or communication directly or indirectly,

00:23:00.520 including face-to-face or by means of text, email, or social media, or through a third party.

00:23:06.880 With any identified LGBTQ2S plus community member.

00:23:14.960 What?

00:23:15.440 He, he, he can't, he can't talk to or meet or, or, or contact in any way, some, someone who's gay or not just gay, 0.89

00:23:25.200 someone who is a member of, what does that mean you're a member of that community?

00:23:29.760 Does that mean you're, you have to be gay or just if you use funny pronouns? 0.77

00:23:34.220 I'll read the next part.

00:23:36.980 Except as specified below, you must not attend at or within 200 meters of the addresses or locations described as any LGBTQ2S plus community event.

00:23:50.700 He's literally banned from talking to any person who is gay or identifies as gay or is just gender fluid but not gay.

00:24:02.460 And apparently every gay person is banned from speaking with him.

00:24:08.480 How does that work?

00:24:11.340 And how do you know, by the way?

00:24:14.780 Does that include friends or family?

00:24:17.240 Seems like the only exception is his lawyers or his court.

00:24:22.840 How would you even enforce that?

00:24:25.500 I mean, if he talks to anyone who is gay or who identifies as that alphabet soup, he goes straight back to jail and loses his 3,000 bucks. 1.00

00:24:35.460 I bet you that the Justice of the Peace doesn't even know what LGBTQ2S plus stands for.

00:24:44.000 Can you do that without checking?

00:24:46.020 Can you do that?

00:24:47.440 But it doesn't matter, though, does it?

00:24:50.340 Yeah, and it doesn't matter if all this is unconstitutional.

00:24:53.280 They'll put him in prison for, what, 50 days like they did to Arthur Pawlowski?

00:24:56.640 Because who cares?

00:24:57.460 Who's going to stop it?

00:24:58.700 City Hall?

00:24:59.840 The Justice of the Peace?

00:25:01.200 The cops?

00:25:02.120 Look, they got away with this for Arthur.

00:25:04.000 Don't you think they learned a lesson from that?

00:25:06.660 Sure, Arthur, Pastor Arthur Pawlowski eventually won at the Court of Appeal.

00:25:11.680 Two and a half years later, after 50 days in jail, after hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

00:25:18.780 Yeah, Pastor Arthur won too many more victories like that, and we've lost this whole thing. 0.85

00:25:24.260 Imagine if this order said you can't talk to any black people. 0.99

00:25:28.960 You just can't communicate with any black people. 1.00

00:25:30.980 Well, even your friends, even your family, at least then you could probably identify a black person and not run into legal trouble. 0.99

00:25:38.520 Although, how black is black enough to be in trouble? 1.00

00:25:41.860 During more racist times, like slavery in the U.S. South, they had to come up with these rules. 0.94

00:25:47.460 They had an atrocious vocabulary of racism.

00:25:50.780 There were black people, then there were people who were called mulatto, and then they had these terrible words, quadroon, octoroon.

00:25:59.640 We never even hear these words anymore.

00:26:01.520 This was the official racist language of the South, because how black did someone have to be to be banned from certain things?

00:26:09.120 Apartheid South Africa had to do the same thing, too.

00:26:12.960 Nazi Germany had to do the same thing with Jews.

00:26:15.020 They came up with the concept of mischling, a mixling.

00:26:18.380 If you were half Jewish, that was obviously far too Jewish. 1.00

00:26:23.100 If you were mixling first degree, mixling second degree, if you had one Jewish grandparent, you wouldn't be killed, but you would not be allowed to join the SS, for example. 0.73

00:26:34.800 These are insane rules when you're trying to pass laws regarding race. 0.52

00:26:39.580 At least with race, you could maybe spot someone, but how do you know who's gay or not?

00:26:44.880 What kind of law, how on earth is that possibly constitutional?

00:26:49.140 And doesn't that violate the rights of gay people to talk to Pastor Derek?

00:26:54.340 Not everyone who's gay or LGBTQS plus agrees with drag queen's story hour, but this justice of the peace has conscripted them to his bizarre army. 0.99

00:27:06.880 This is happening in Calgary, allegedly the most conservative city in the country, and the only media coverage is to cheer it on.

00:27:19.600 These are dark days, my friends.

00:27:22.540 Stay with us for more.

00:27:23.460 Well, Pastor Derek Reimer is out of jail.

00:27:39.340 He was put in the Maximum Security Remain Center for heckling.

00:27:43.960 Now, I don't deny that heckling can be offensive.

00:27:46.600 It could even be called rude.

00:27:47.940 He may even ought to have been cast out of a library room if he was disrupting people who were gathered there willingly and he was messing things up.

00:27:58.180 I get it, although I think they put hands on him in a way that someone else would have been charged with assault.

00:28:02.840 But to charge a pastor with crimes in the criminal court, to hold him in jail where, I tell you, in this country, terrorists, accused terrorists are allowed on bail, tells you how serious a position we are in.

00:28:19.860 And joining us now via Skype from Calgary is a criminal lawyer.

00:28:25.080 And I hate the fact that a criminal lawyer has to be retained to fight for the freedom of a Christian pastor who simply expressed his dissent.

00:28:35.420 That criminal lawyer is Ben Allison.

00:28:37.080 He works for Shory Law Firm, and he has been funded by the generous donations of people to the Democracy Fund.

00:28:45.320 You can chip in, too, at SavePastorDerek.com.

00:28:48.740 Ben, nice to meet you, and thanks for joining our viewers, many of whom care very much about freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

00:28:58.120 Good afternoon.

00:28:59.660 Well, thank you, and I want to brag about you.

00:29:03.900 You and I have spoken once or twice on the phone.

00:29:05.820 One of my favorite things about you is that you're classmates and friends with Sarah Miller, who is well known to our viewers as the tireless defender of Pastor Arthur Pawlowski.

00:29:19.840 You and Sarah went to class together.

00:29:22.540 She's pretty bright, and she's fought hard.

00:29:24.880 It's my hope, Ben, that you become a similar advocate for the case of Pastor Derek.

00:29:31.340 Yes, Sarah is a wonderful friend of mine.

00:29:37.040 I did get a chance to go to law school with Sarah.

00:29:41.340 We've been able to maintain touch.

00:29:43.460 I count her as a friend.

00:29:45.100 And, yes, certainly I have been retained to fight for Mr. Reimer and all of his rights in these criminal matters, and I'm happy to do so.

00:29:52.460 Well, thank you very much.

00:29:53.540 We need the help.

00:29:54.380 This sounds very unusual to me.

00:29:56.000 I recall the mayor, Jody Gondek, went on Twitter and had sort of a tantrum saying she rejected the, quote, reasons, and she put that in scare quotes.

00:30:04.980 She rejected the reasons why police and prosecutors, she said, were not charging Pastor Derek after he was thrown out of that drag queen story hour.

00:30:15.500 And after she went on that Twitter tantrum, then they did, in fact, arrest him.

00:30:20.500 I mean, that just stinks of political interference to me.

00:30:23.840 I don't even know how that's kosher.

00:30:25.400 I mean, Danielle Smith got in trouble with the media party and the opposition for saying she would consider staying some prosecutions that weren't in the public interest against some lockdown targets.

00:30:38.720 Here, the mayor practically commands the police to do her bidding, and they do it. 0.98

00:30:43.860 This feels political.

00:30:45.840 How has it been so far in the courts?

00:30:48.260 Can you give us an update?

00:30:50.300 When you've been to court for Pastor Derek, who is there representing the government?

00:30:56.240 Is it a criminal prosecutor?

00:30:58.800 Is there a city lawyer?

00:31:00.080 Who's there on the other side?

00:31:02.460 And what has politics entered into any of the conversations, including with the justice of the peace who granted him bail?

00:31:09.580 In terms of who is involved on the court appearances thus far, it's frankly very early on in these proceedings.

00:31:20.160 Most court appearances that we've done are what I would call administrative appearances.

00:31:25.420 So there are various crown prosecutors who will speak to this matter.

00:31:29.520 In terms of who's on for the city, there is a city lawyer who will be dealing with the bylaw offenses.

00:31:37.800 So there's two different and separate crowns offices who are involved because there's two distinct sets of charges.

00:31:44.780 There's municipal bylaw offenses.

00:31:46.720 And then there's, of course, allegations of crimes that are listed in the criminal code.

00:31:54.340 In terms of politics, thankfully, that's something that I'm not obligated to get involved in and I've been able to steer clear.

00:32:01.680 But in these very early proceedings, nothing's been political thus far.

00:32:08.060 Okay, well, that's good to know.

00:32:09.120 So I found it upsetting that the mayor felt that she could command the police to fill her political wishes. 1.00

00:32:17.560 That's not their role, of course.

00:32:20.520 Can you tell us what the charges are?

00:32:23.200 You mentioned there were some bylaw offenses, and I know the one you're referring to.

00:32:27.160 We've done a show on it before.

00:32:28.660 I understand there was causing a disturbance and a mischief charge.

00:32:32.660 I saw reports in the media about hate crime charges as well.

00:32:38.020 So far, have there been any hate crime charges or an element of hate crimes that has been mentioned by police or prosecutors?

00:32:48.800 So no, hate crime isn't an express charge in the criminal code.

00:32:57.100 But there are charges within the criminal code that more appropriately would cover things that most people would consider to be a hate crime.

00:33:05.880 To my knowledge, Mr. Reimer has not been charged with anything like that.

00:33:10.900 The charges that he is facing under the criminal code are in mischief and cause disturbance.

00:33:16.400 Now, in our system, after and if Mr. Reimer is sentenced, a judge can consider whether or not the offenses relate to a hate motivation as an aggravating or a factor to be considered that would increase the penalty.

00:33:37.380 So that could come into play later on, but we're far, far away from that.

00:33:44.300 There would have to be a finding of guilt first.

00:33:47.240 Right.

00:33:47.380 Well, I certainly hope it doesn't come to that.

00:33:50.060 And I find it terrifying that a Christian pastor who was not uttering threats, was not engaged in any violence or anything that we would normally call a crime, could be faced with a criminal conviction, let alone a hate crime conviction.

00:34:09.560 I find that terrifying.

00:34:10.600 Have you had a chance to be properly briefed by Pastor Derek?

00:34:15.820 I mean, when someone's arrested and put in the clink, it's often this scurry to connect them with a lawyer.

00:34:21.240 Did they have a chance to fully talk about the facts?

00:34:23.540 Is the lawyer fully instructed?

00:34:25.520 Have you had a chance to properly meet with your client and understand his case and give him tips already?

00:34:33.460 I suppose he's been out of jail a few days now.

00:34:35.940 Have you have you synced up with him?

00:34:37.620 Yes, I've been able to speak with Mr. Reimer.

00:34:42.140 I've obtained instructions.

00:34:43.200 I've explained the lay of the land, the next steps.

00:34:46.840 Those are kinds of the, you know, in terms of broad scopes, the conversations that we've had.

00:34:53.080 Again, we're so early on in these proceedings, I don't have any disclosure yet from either of the Crown's offices.

00:35:00.360 So discussions between Mr. Reimer and I are mostly centered around how to ensure he can do all that he can to abide by the conditions he's under.

00:35:10.740 Right.

00:35:11.060 Well, I want to talk about that, if you don't mind, because often when someone is released, you know, I haven't done criminal law in a long time.

00:35:19.520 I was a lawyer way back in the day, Ben, but I haven't said I haven't darkened the doorstep of a courthouse other than, you know, in civil litigation, often on free speech matters.

00:35:30.740 But when I was a criminal lawyer, there were two main questions that were decided if someone should be released on bail.

00:35:37.200 Because, number one, were they a danger to the community?

00:35:40.920 And number two, were they a flight risk?

00:35:43.360 Were they a risk of running away and never coming back to the hearing?

00:35:47.420 Now, there's, I guess there's a third condition, sort of general, you know, community conditions.

00:35:53.040 But I would think that Pastor Derek Reimer, there was no violence afoot.

00:35:58.940 It was a heckler.

00:35:59.680 And in terms of flight risk, I think he's very much committed to the city.

00:36:05.760 There's not a chance he would run away.

00:36:08.060 I don't even know if he has the ability to run away.

00:36:09.820 He's not like a gazillionaire with five passports and a private gem.

00:36:14.840 And so he was granted bail.

00:36:16.380 But one of the bail conditions is the strangest thing I've ever seen in my life.

00:36:20.480 That he is barred from contacting anyone in the, and I'm going to try and get this right, the LGBT2Q plus community, which I think means anyone who's gay or trans or I think the Q is, 2Q is, I think, queer and questioning.

00:36:42.420 Like, it's such a huge, expansive list.

00:36:45.940 And how do you know if someone is gay?

00:36:48.120 You know, you don't outwardly know.

00:36:53.300 How on earth can someone be told you're allowed out of jail, but you're not allowed to contact any gay people, even your friends and family, even a shopkeeper or a barista?

00:37:03.860 You're not allowed to contact them.

00:37:05.280 That just sounds so vague and political.

00:37:08.720 That scares me, that bail condition.

00:37:10.520 I'm worried that he's going to accidentally trip it and be in trouble again.

00:37:13.640 And I can't believe it's even there in the first place.

00:37:15.260 What can you say about that?

00:37:16.140 Are you guys going to try and have these bail conditions varied?

00:37:20.120 Yeah.

00:37:20.660 So any kind of condition that's placed on release, there's a couple different avenues that council can go down to try to get them altered or varied.

00:37:30.800 The first is by consent.

00:37:32.300 That's, of course, with an agreement with the Crown's office that they would agree to revised conditions.

00:37:39.580 And the second is to do a bail review.

00:37:42.820 So right now, we'll pursue the first and we'll seek to have them varied and clarified.

00:37:49.980 So they're more likely that Mr. Reimer is going to be able to abide by them without inadvertently breaching.

00:37:57.620 And then I'll obtain instructions regarding set two if that's necessary.

00:38:02.820 Yeah.

00:38:03.340 Well, I hope you'll keep us posted on that.

00:38:05.800 I was thinking about that.

00:38:07.560 What if they said you can't come into contact with anyone who's Jewish or anyone who's black?

00:38:14.240 What if someone was told those things?

00:38:15.980 It wouldn't just be an impairment on the person who was ordered. 0.95

00:38:19.260 It would be an impairment on anyone who is Jewish or black or, in this case, gay. 0.93

00:38:23.360 Like, if you're a gay person, are you allowed to contact Pastor Reimer? 0.66

00:38:26.920 Well, of course, because there's no rule against the general public.

00:38:32.400 But it's just, like you say, it is so impossible to comply with this because it's so odd and strange.

00:38:39.880 It does not feel like a standard rule.

00:38:43.060 It feels, to quote the Constitution, there's a section there that there may be no cruel or unusual treatment.

00:38:50.760 This certainly feels unusual, and it may even be cruel to say to a man, you can't talk to any friends or family who are gay.

00:38:58.040 I just find it the strangest thing, and I find that the city is—this is what I mean by politicization, this bail condition.

00:39:05.940 Do we have a court date for the next hearing?

00:39:09.340 Today you were in court for administrative matters.

00:39:12.400 Is there a timeline laid out for things?

00:39:15.080 I guess the Crown has to give you disclosure of their case.

00:39:17.420 Is there something else that's been locked in, or are things still up in the air?

00:39:23.760 No, nothing's really locked in, as you'd say.

00:39:26.920 Again, right now, it's so early on, it's hard to tell exactly what the next step should be.

00:39:33.100 So there will be some communications between myself and the various Crown's offices that make decisions as to what happens next.

00:39:39.960 In terms of next court date, I did appear for Mr. Reimer today, and so his next date was adjourned to March 29th in courtroom 308 in the Calgary Courthouse.

00:39:51.700 So at that time, I'll be speaking to his matter again, and hopefully I'll be able to advise the court on what the next step is going to be.

00:40:00.100 Okay.

00:40:00.380 And will that be a substantive hearing?

00:40:02.500 Will that be a bail review, or what would that be on March 29th?

00:40:07.260 Nothing substantive is going to happen on March 29th.

00:40:11.360 At the most, scheduling is going to happen for something substantive further down the road.

00:40:16.920 But I'll have to wait and see how discussions with the Crown go and whether or not a bail review is going to be necessary for these matters.

00:40:24.360 Well, Ben, I appreciate you taking the time.

00:40:27.700 I like your calm, cool, collected approach, and I think that's necessary in a hot case like this.

00:40:35.540 I think you need a criminal defense lawyer who can just look at the law and look at the facts and be above the political fray, and I like the fact that you mentioned that.

00:40:44.620 What's interesting to me is the international attention this case has received.

00:40:48.380 I've seen a lot of coverage, I mean, frankly, a lot of media in Calgary covered it, and I know for a fact there was coverage on the largest show on cable TV in America, Tucker Carlson's show on Fox.

00:41:00.200 I heard from my colleague Sheila Gunn-Reed that only Sheila and our reporter Angelica Toy, they were the only reporters in court today.

00:41:09.520 Is that true?

00:41:10.060 Have you seen, I guess it's only been recently that you've been Pastor Derek's lawyer.

00:41:19.100 I just hope that they cover more than just the accusation against him.

00:41:23.740 I hope they cover his defense, and I hope they cover the other point of view, and I hope they see the dangers of the precedent that's being set here.

00:41:32.160 I guess you're just so new on the file, and people maybe don't know that you're the lawyer involved, but I take it that other media haven't contacted you yet.

00:41:42.820 Yeah, I'm very new on this file, and when you're new on the file and obtaining instructions on what to say and to whom you should speak to, that's always a little slow in the beginning.

00:41:53.860 So, again, it's early days to see what's going to happen, but in the meantime, I'll do whatever I can to fight for Mr. Reimer's rights and to ensure he's treated fairly.

00:42:05.880 Well, listen, you're such a good sport for talking with me.

00:42:08.360 I know you're a man of the court, the court of law, not so much the court of public opinion, but I think this battle will be in both.

00:42:14.960 And I want to invite our viewers to chip in to help cover Pastor Derek's legal fees and to pay Ben Allison's fees.

00:42:24.640 It's important that we do this.

00:42:26.920 As you know, we've been fighting for Pastor Arthur Pawlowski for three years, and I think he's had 16 appearances in court in that time, and I hope it won't be as many for Pastor Derek.

00:42:36.460 But if you want to help keep Ben Allison of Shorey Law on the file, go to SavePastorDerek.com, and those donations go to the Democracy Fund, not Rebel News.

00:42:46.600 They go to the Democracy Fund, and you will, in fact, receive a charitable tax credit for it.

00:42:51.200 Ben, thanks for your time.

00:42:52.900 I know you're more a man of the court than a man of political pundit panels, so I appreciate you joining us today.

00:42:58.720 And we're going to support you journalistically, and we're going to support you financially, and we know you'll do your best legally, and hopefully we'll have a result that gives us expanded civil liberties.

00:43:10.280 Because whether or not you agree with Pastor Derek, either his views on drag queens or Christianity or whatever, the freedom that he uses today is the freedom that you will use tomorrow.

00:43:22.680 That's why precedents are so important.

00:43:24.500 And we have to fight for freedom, even for cantankerous people, because if they can go for him today, they'll go for you the next day.

00:43:32.240 Good luck in there, Ben, and we'll keep following the story.

00:43:35.760 Thank you, Ezra.

00:43:37.000 All right.

00:43:37.480 My pleasure.

00:43:38.080 There you have it.

00:43:38.460 Ben Allison of Shorey Law.

00:43:40.020 You can help out at SavePastorDerek.com.

00:43:43.140 Stay with us.

00:43:43.740 More ahead.

00:43:54.500 Hey, welcome back.

00:43:56.480 Your Letters to Me.

00:43:57.700 Someone whose nickname is COVID is a hoax says, did I just hear correctly?

00:44:03.220 Is Ezra in favor of the Zelensky and his Ukrainian Nazi regime?

00:44:09.480 If this is true, then some of us on here have been correct.

00:44:13.880 This is a controlled opposition site.

00:44:16.540 Better recant and change your mind with apologies, Ezra.

00:44:19.460 I have no idea what you're referring to.

00:44:23.880 I was explaining why Canada calling for regime change is a terrible idea, why it's not something that Canada could achieve in Moscow.

00:44:36.320 It's a dangerous provocation.

00:44:39.240 Even Joe Biden walked it back.

00:44:41.420 So I was saying that calling for regime change in any country is very risky.

00:44:46.760 It may even be illegal in some cases.

00:44:49.740 So I don't know why you think I'm pro-Zelensky.

00:44:53.520 I don't believe that Ukraine should be invaded.

00:44:56.560 And I note that Russia signed a treaty, I think it was in 1994, approving of the borders with an independent Ukraine.

00:45:07.680 So I think that there should be peaceful negotiations.

00:45:10.760 And I do not support Vladimir Putin.

00:45:13.580 But that doesn't mean I support Zelensky, who has made extreme comments like reconquering Crimea or that Western army should fight in Russia and our children, our boys and girls should die.

00:45:27.720 He actually said something to that effect.

00:45:29.420 So I don't know why you think I'm a Zelensky shill or a Putin shill.

00:45:34.740 I'm just a Canadian who doesn't like this war, who doesn't like the civilian carnage, who doesn't like solving problems through wars, who wants a diplomatic solution, and who thinks that sending money over there is risky from an accountability and accounting point of view.

00:45:52.480 So I have no idea why you would say the things you said in your letter.

00:45:57.920 Tyson says, hey, Ezra, about our call for regime change to Russia as a Western Canadian to Russia, I would welcome a regime change in Canada.

00:46:06.500 I also think Putin would be relatively kind to Western Canada, not just for geographical reasons, but as a token of good faith to show us how he wants to see us win again.

00:46:14.680 Maybe I sound crazy, but this does not sound like too bad of a future.

00:46:17.740 Well, I disagree with you, and Russia is not a totalitarian regime like it was under the Soviet Union, but neither is it completely free.

00:46:30.660 Putin is effectively a president for life.

00:46:33.580 The elections there are not fair or open.

00:46:38.260 Political leaders are attacked, jailed on trumped-up charges, sometimes even poisoned.

00:46:44.440 I think there's no doubt that Vladimir Putin is a brutal person, former KGB agent, and as we discussed yesterday, he's an invader of his neighbors, whether it's Georgia or Ukraine.

00:46:56.500 I don't think he would want to be ruled by Putin.

00:46:59.680 I don't think he would like the approach to civil liberties.

00:47:02.940 Now, it's not the caricature that we see in the media party.

00:47:06.540 For example, when we sent our reporter Jeremy Lafredo to Moscow to do Streeters, I thought there's no way that people are going to openly criticize the war or Putin on camera without hiding their face.

00:47:20.020 And some people didn't want to talk to us on camera, but others did.

00:47:23.980 We had people on camera saying, I'm opposed to the war, I'm opposed to Putin, and for a number of reasons.

00:47:31.580 So I don't think that Russia is totalitarian.

00:47:34.700 It's not.

00:47:35.840 Unlike during the Cold War, you can leave Russia.

00:47:38.680 You couldn't emigrate from Russia during the Cold War.

00:47:43.700 I think there's a little bit of shades of gray in this.

00:47:46.640 It's not just black or white.

00:47:48.280 But I do believe that we need to have a diplomatic negotiated solution.

00:47:54.100 And I just don't hear that language from Biden, from the Canadian side, or from the British side.

00:47:59.860 Other countries, like I follow Viktor Orban, the Hungarian leader, online, and literally every day he's tweeting about a diplomatic, peaceful solution to the war.

00:48:10.500 And I just think, how is that not the default position for any of us?

00:48:15.880 Benjamin says, Dear Ezra, I know that this may seem unfair to those that wish to immigrate to Canada legally and take the appropriate steps to enter the country properly, but something has to be done about Rocks and Road.

00:48:25.920 Why not, instead of giving the asylum seekers social assistance in a hotel room, give them a temporary work permit and some resources to find employment?

00:48:33.580 Limit the free accommodations and make attempts to integrate them into society.

00:48:37.040 The work permit should come and strict limits and should be renewable upon conditions, such having an positive employer reference and positive landlord reference.

00:48:46.800 Well, really, what you're doing, what you're saying is what there is now.

00:48:51.640 I mean, a number of these people do work.

00:48:53.460 Some of them go on welfare, but many of them have been here for years.

00:48:57.840 I mean, the first Rocks and Road border crossers were in January 2017.

00:49:03.160 So there have been people who cross Rocks and Road six years ago.

00:49:07.200 I have no doubt that some of them have married, have got children born here.

00:49:12.340 I'm sure many of them work here.

00:49:15.060 So what you're saying is actually happening.

00:49:17.380 I just say that that is wrong legally because they're not refugees. 1.00

00:49:22.420 Diplomatically, we shouldn't be letting America get rid of its fake refugees in our country. 1.00

00:49:28.940 And morally, I don't believe in rewarding people whose very first act in Canada is breaking our law, whose very first words they hear from the RCMP is you're under arrest.

00:49:39.620 Now, it's a joke arrest.

00:49:40.780 They're immediately released.

00:49:41.800 So I'm going to politely agree with you and say we should just put up a chain link fence there and direct them to the regular border crossing and just do what Canada and the U.S. have done for decades, which is have an unmanned, unguarded border.

00:49:56.940 But anyone caught crossing is deported.

00:50:00.400 You know, some controversial and spicy emails today.

00:50:03.700 That's our show for the day.

00:50:05.940 Ben is shy.

00:50:07.080 Ben, the lawyer, is a little bit shy.

00:50:08.780 I was trying to warm him up.

00:50:09.880 But I remember Sarah Miller was shy in her first interview, too.

00:50:12.760 Now she's an old pro.

00:50:14.360 Until tomorrow, on behalf of all of us here at Rebel World Headquarters, to you at home, good night.

00:50:18.840 And keep fighting for freedom.

00:50:19.900 Natalie White.

00:50:28.860 I have never seen her I was here.

00:50:30.580 分 positive for freedom at all.

00:50:32.340 But I'll see you in the next video.

00:50:33.980 Bye.

00:50:34.620 Bye.

00:50:35.440 Bye.

00:50:35.860 Bye.

00:50:36.400 Bye.

00:50:38.920 Bye.

00:50:38.960 Bye.

00:50:40.500 Bye.

00:50:41.020 Bye.

00:50:41.120 Bye.

00:50:43.140 Bye.

00:50:43.160 Bye.

00:50:44.940 Bye.

00:50:45.280 Bye.

00:50:45.760 Bye.

00:50:45.820 Bye.

00:50:46.660 Bye.

00:50:46.900 Bye.

00:50:47.780 Bye.

00:50:48.020 Bye.

00:50:48.320 Bye.

Rebel News Podcast - March 14, 2023

EZRA LEVANT ｜ Calgary’s city hall continues to ban protests — but only conservative protests. Who will stop them？

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Summary

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