Rebel News Podcast


EZRA LEVANT ｜ Canada’s little tyrants are popping up everywhere. What is this, Venezuela？


Summary

You don't have to scratch very deeply to find an authoritarian underneath any politician. It's very depressing. But there's some good news too, too, and I'll share it with you. Some of the good news is coming from Coots, Alberta.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hello, my Rebels. Today, I show you all the little tyrants popping up in Canada
00:00:03.700 who want to use a bit of a Hugo Chavez style in dealing with these truckers.
00:00:08.300 Boy, you don't have to scratch very deeply to find an authoritarian underneath any politician.
00:00:15.860 It's very depressing.
00:00:17.080 But there is some good news, too, and I'll share it with you.
00:00:19.240 Some of the good news is coming from Coots, Alberta.
00:00:22.360 That's ahead. Before I get to that, I'd like to invite you to become a subscriber to Rebel News Plus.
00:00:27.900 That's the video version of the show.
00:00:30.400 Eight bucks a month, which is pretty modest, as I may say, in comparison to things like Netflix.
00:00:34.940 But we use that $8 a month to pay our bills because we don't get any money from Trudeau,
00:00:38.580 unlike 99% of Canadian journalists.
00:00:40.640 So please consider going to rebelnewsplus.com and clicking subscribe.
00:00:44.720 All right, here's today's show.
00:00:50.640 You're listening to a Rebel News Podcast.
00:01:00.000 Tonight, Canada's little tyrants are popping up everywhere.
00:01:05.500 What is this, Venezuela?
00:01:06.960 It's February 2nd, and this is the Ezra Levant Show.
00:01:09.520 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?
00:01:15.700 There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.
00:01:19.800 The only thing I have to say to the government, the wire publisher, is because it's my bloody right to do so.
00:01:25.620 I like Evan Solomon.
00:01:31.880 I think he is the most fair journalist in the entire mainstream media in Canada, frankly.
00:01:36.520 An example of this is that he actually went down to Parliament Hill in the cold amongst the trucker protesters.
00:01:43.780 In a city with literally 250 journalists assigned to cover Parliament, and with the protest right outside the door,
00:01:52.200 you'd think that they would all wander around just to see the spectacle, just out of sheer curiosity.
00:01:57.760 But I'm guessing fewer than 10 did.
00:02:00.420 At least I can see no evidence that any more did.
00:02:03.000 But many journalists these days lack all curiosity in any initiative because those things can cause trouble, you see.
00:02:09.240 Once upon a time, journalists loved causing trouble, or you can call it speaking truth to power,
00:02:14.940 or you can call it comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.
00:02:19.520 Have you ever heard of an endangered species, the investigative journalist?
00:02:24.340 That's someone who actually investigates things.
00:02:26.720 It often means getting up out of your desk and asking your own questions
00:02:31.020 rather than just rewriting official press releases from the warmth of a cubicle.
00:02:36.140 There even used to be something called shoe leather reporting.
00:02:39.020 I know it sounds so old-timey, doesn't it?
00:02:40.880 That refers to someone walking around the streets, wearing out their shoes from actually looking for the news where it is.
00:02:48.960 Alas, that's not many Canadian journalists now.
00:02:51.160 I say again, most of the accurate and fair coverage of the trucker convoy is from foreign media in the U.K., Australia, and the United States.
00:03:00.360 In Canada, it's almost all just amplification of Trudeau's own talking points,
00:03:05.040 which you can expect when 99% of journalists are on the payroll.
00:03:08.760 I mean, he joked about it a while back.
00:03:10.560 But the reason why jokes are funny is because there's truth in them.
00:03:16.360 You sometimes hear about liberal bias in the media these days,
00:03:19.780 how they're constantly letting our government off the hook for no good reason.
00:03:26.340 Frankly, I think that's insulting.
00:03:29.400 It's clear that they let us off the hook for a very good reason,
00:03:33.560 because we paid them $600 million.
00:03:37.480 You don't get stellar headlines like these without greasing the wheels a bit.
00:03:42.960 They were laughing because it was true.
00:03:44.840 If it weren't true, it would be weird and unfunny.
00:03:47.920 No one would get it.
00:03:49.060 That was at a press gallery dinner, by the way.
00:03:50.980 So Trudeau was literally saying it right to their faces,
00:03:54.460 letting them know that he knows, that they know.
00:03:57.380 They're bought and sold, and they loved it.
00:03:59.860 And, of course, the press gallery dinner there.
00:04:02.520 It's only for official members of the press gallery.
00:04:05.840 They banned revolutions from the press gallery.
00:04:08.380 But they are right now reviewing an application from Xinhua,
00:04:11.360 the Chinese state propaganda agency.
00:04:13.180 They'll fit right in.
00:04:15.440 So, yeah, kudos to Evan Solomon for even venturing out amongst the unwashed masses,
00:04:19.400 the proletariat.
00:04:21.080 That's more than the alleged conservative Aaron O'Toole would do.
00:04:24.560 He won't get any more chances, though, will he?
00:04:26.980 Certainly more than Jagmeet Singh would do.
00:04:28.880 Jagmeet Singh was calling this largely Sikh rally.
00:04:33.540 I wouldn't say it was a majority Sikh, but there were a lot of Sikh truckers there.
00:04:36.140 He was calling them racist.
00:04:37.460 So hard to believe that the NDP actually used to be the party of the working man.
00:04:41.340 Now they think the working man is racist, even if they're Sikh.
00:04:44.980 We saw some really hateful and disturbing images coming out of the convoy in Ottawa this past weekend.
00:04:52.040 We saw the Nazi flag being flown, the Confederate flag being flown.
00:04:56.000 And instead of denouncing and making it clear that this type of hate has no place in Canada,
00:05:01.380 the leader of the official opposition and his Conservative MPs left the door open to this type of hate in Canada.
00:05:08.000 What is the Prime Minister going to do to tackle the rise of online hate so we can build a better future for our kids?
00:05:16.400 Right.
00:05:16.740 Honourable Prime Minister.
00:05:18.060 I thank the leader of the NDP for bringing up this important issue.
00:05:23.420 Obviously, like him, we vigorously condemn the hatred, the intolerance that we've seen in the streets of Ottawa over the past number of days.
00:05:33.740 We know all Canadians are frustrated, all Canadians are tired of this pandemic, but the vast majority of Canadians know that listening to science, getting vaccinated, continuing to be there for each other with respect and openness is the best and really only way through this pandemic.
00:05:51.820 That's what we'll stay focused on.
00:05:53.120 Anyways, I want to let you know that I think Evan Solomon is the best of the bunch.
00:05:56.900 So I was a little disappointed when I saw him tweet this from the streets.
00:06:02.320 He said, as you can see, it's a tweet showing video of some protesters being completely peaceful on the streets of Ottawa.
00:06:09.960 The video isn't what's interesting.
00:06:11.780 They're just pushing a fuel cart.
00:06:13.620 But look at what Evan Solomon says.
00:06:15.860 He says, so this is something police have to explain.
00:06:18.920 If the city is saying they don't want the protest to continue and the mayor says so, how does this happen?
00:06:26.040 What?
00:06:27.040 Is the city owned by a mayor?
00:06:29.020 Is he like a feudal lord and we're all peasants who live there by his gracious gift?
00:06:34.360 Yeah, no, we have something called a charter of rights that permits freedom of assembly and freedom of expression and mobility rights.
00:06:40.380 This literally walking down the street in a city is not up to a mayor or a premier or a prime minister or a policeman or even a king.
00:06:49.740 But this is normal thinking now in Ottawa.
00:06:53.540 Look at this.
00:06:54.180 The woke mayor of Ottawa is saying he wants to get his mitts on the trucker convoy's money.
00:07:00.260 So, I mean, then let me ask you, because you're part of the briefings, you're in on the conversations, obviously.
00:07:06.020 How do you see this coming to an end and do you have any sense of when?
00:07:08.780 Well, it's going to come to an end.
00:07:11.880 Obviously, this is not going to be allowed to go on forever.
00:07:14.980 In terms of when that will take place, that, again, is an operational decision that will be made by the chief based on the intelligence that they've received.
00:07:23.420 We've got a lot of police presence, as you know.
00:07:25.940 Police forces from across Ontario and Quebec are here to bolster our police services.
00:07:30.360 And we've been very patient, quite frankly, with this group.
00:07:33.500 And the organizers have been completely irresponsible in terms of any leadership or ownership of some of the outrageous activity and behavior of their members.
00:07:43.320 And they should be the ones telling their members, go back home, get back to business, deal with your own local MPs and allow these neighborhoods to reopen.
00:07:52.640 How much is all of this costing the city of Ottawa?
00:07:56.140 Well, it's $800,000 a day for police costs alone and then probably a couple hundred thousand dollars in overtime costs for public works, bylaw, paramedics and so on.
00:08:06.100 So it's very expensive.
00:08:07.060 And our taxpayers shouldn't be paying for this nonsense.
00:08:09.040 We've asked our city solicitor to see what can be done with the GoFundMe fund that they've raised over $8 million, whether that can be tapped into to pay for some of these extraordinary expenses caused by these truckers.
00:08:22.620 Is it also your intention to ask the federal government to assume all or part of these costs?
00:08:29.040 Yeah, we have a good relationship with the federal government.
00:08:31.020 And I spoke with the prime minister yesterday, and he's assured us that the federal government is here with us in the long term.
00:08:37.180 They recognize this is a burden on our taxpayers, so we appreciate his positive perspective.
00:08:43.940 By the way, the city is not, in fact, shut down, at least not by the truckers.
00:08:48.880 The truckers are taking up the street right in front of Parliament Hill, it's true.
00:08:52.560 But I was there, and in fact, police have blocked off most of the downtown.
00:08:57.040 It's the police who are restricting traffic.
00:09:00.320 And the $800,000 a day in policing?
00:09:02.560 Okay, exactly.
00:09:03.300 But why?
00:09:04.380 Why are you bringing in police forces from far-off cities and putting them up in hotels and paying them overtime,
00:09:09.520 other than to give them, you know, add a little bit of drama to that police state aesthetic that Trudeau seems to like?
00:09:16.880 And the entire weekend of the initial protest, the time I was there, there was not a single charge laid, not a single arrest made.
00:09:24.100 So this over-policing isn't on the protesters, it's on the bullies.
00:09:27.740 The prime minister and the mayor, they wish there were a fight.
00:09:32.040 There just wasn't.
00:09:34.940 The scandal was that someone put a flag on Terry Fox and a cape,
00:09:39.240 and that someone parked at the entrance of the war memorial for a few minutes until police told them to move, and they did.
00:09:47.020 These are portrayed by Trudeau and his media liars as desecrations of a war memorial and desecration of a statue.
00:09:53.800 See, they weren't.
00:09:55.260 That's how desperate they were.
00:09:57.260 That and an agent provocateur flying a Nazi flag at the Chateau Laurier, the most expensive hotel in the city,
00:10:05.920 where no trucker would ever stay but where plenty of liberals do.
00:10:09.700 That's it.
00:10:10.280 But in that Banana Republic style, the Lord Mayor of Ottawa not only wants to ban people from his streets,
00:10:17.300 I mean, it's the capital city people, it's for the fancy people who haven't lost a minute's work or a dollar's pay during the pandemic.
00:10:23.860 They've got raises, and they've got to work from home if they worked at all.
00:10:28.240 But boy, they collected their pay.
00:10:30.160 It's been a feast for lobbyists and contractors and insiders.
00:10:33.360 Why let some noisy working men into their holy city?
00:10:36.560 I love the word they're using, desecrate, as if Ottawa is holy, and these grubby truckers have no place there.
00:10:45.860 Shoo.
00:10:47.080 Yeah, and taking their money.
00:10:48.880 That's just the final Hugo Chavez touch, nationalizing their bank account.
00:10:52.840 It's spreading, though, by the way.
00:10:55.060 I think I mentioned this the other day.
00:10:56.260 Nova Scotia isn't just daydreaming of nationalizing someone else's bank account and jailing truckers.
00:11:01.940 They've actually issued an order specifically targeting convoy supporters and banning them from standing at the side of the road.
00:11:10.140 Huh?
00:11:11.240 Yeah, let me read it to you.
00:11:12.560 I'm going to read two paragraphs.
00:11:14.360 The province today, January 28th, issued a directive under the Emergency Management Act prohibiting protesters from blockading Highway 104 near the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border.
00:11:26.660 Okay, I understand not blocking any road.
00:11:29.680 I get it.
00:11:30.120 Okay.
00:11:30.500 There are actually laws against that already.
00:11:32.100 But look at this.
00:11:34.440 The directive also applies to people who stop or gather alongside Highway 104, the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border, or at the Cobequid Pass toll area in support of the 2022 Freedom Convoy, the Atlantic Hold the Line event, or others organized to interfere with traffic.
00:11:52.100 Allowing people to gather in those areas would put themselves and others at risk.
00:11:55.440 So you cannot peacefully gather at the side of a road.
00:11:59.840 You're not blocking the road.
00:12:01.860 You're cheering people on the road.
00:12:05.300 There's nothing illegal about that.
00:12:06.560 There's nothing blockading about that.
00:12:07.680 There's nothing wrong with that.
00:12:09.840 Freedom of speech, freedom of association, mobility, all the charter rights stuff.
00:12:14.340 It's atrocious, but look at the wording.
00:12:16.760 You can actually protest all you want about literally anything else in the world, just not in support of the 2022 Freedom Convoy.
00:12:23.820 Anything else is legal.
00:12:24.780 You can have two people standing on the same bridge or the same road.
00:12:28.420 One can be protesting, I don't know, in support of Trudeau, and the other protesting in support of the convoy.
00:12:33.960 Only the convoy supporter is a lawbreaker under this rule.
00:12:36.880 Or more to the point, you can have two people next to each other on the same overpass.
00:12:41.380 One is for the convoy.
00:12:43.100 The other is opposed to the convoy.
00:12:45.480 And only the supporter is illegal.
00:12:47.300 Read the wording.
00:12:49.760 This is absurd.
00:12:50.620 This is transparent.
00:12:51.520 This is illegal.
00:12:52.560 This is unconstitutional.
00:12:53.680 But they're doing it.
00:12:54.600 And who's stopping them?
00:12:56.520 Do you doubt that we have within us the authoritarian impulse, the impulse to dominate and destroy our enemies?
00:13:02.460 Do you think there was something genetically different about the Germans 70 years ago?
00:13:04.980 All this talk of anti-bullying and tolerance, it's all fake.
00:13:10.520 It's all reverse psychology.
00:13:11.960 A cover, a mask to hide the true nature of the state.
00:13:15.640 There's no one more vicious than an anti-bully.
00:13:19.660 Look at Trudeau, who in the name of tolerance is the most intolerant prime minister we've ever had.
00:13:25.140 He talks about racism.
00:13:26.180 He's the blackface guy.
00:13:28.960 Imagine using emergency health legislation to ban specific political views from protesting.
00:13:34.640 That's Canada now.
00:13:36.900 It's infected our governments.
00:13:38.300 It's infected our opposition parties.
00:13:40.420 And it's infected our media.
00:13:42.840 That's the real pandemic.
00:13:44.240 The real virus.
00:13:46.380 Government power has never been this great.
00:13:48.380 And our civil liberties have never been in such peril.
00:13:51.860 Stay with us for more.
00:13:56.180 Well, it's about 4 p.m. Eastern time as I'm recording.
00:14:10.780 It's 2 p.m. Alberta time.
00:14:11.800 I tell you that because a lot is changing between now and when the show actually airs tonight in a few hours.
00:14:18.220 A very fluid situation.
00:14:19.540 I'm talking about the blockade, the convoy in Coots, Alberta, the village that is the customs and border checkpoint between Canada and the United States, Alberta and Montana.
00:14:30.740 Joining us now via Skype from the blockade is Chad Williamson, the lawyer crowdfunded by Rebel News, to assist the truckers in negotiating with the police, de-escalating the situation and generally trying to have a happy outcome there.
00:14:47.440 Our friend Chad Williamson joins us now.
00:14:49.100 Chad, how are you doing down there?
00:14:51.140 Ezra, we're doing great.
00:14:53.200 And de-escalation is the word of the day today.
00:14:56.080 As many people know, the breaking news coming from down here is that in a tremendous and surprising show of good faith and compassion for their fellow Albertans and an understanding for the toll that this blockade has taken across the country and in reciprocation for what we feel to be some inklings of movement by the government in respect of the demands of the truckers.
00:15:24.640 The truckers are opening lanes, one lane that is on going each way, providing unimpeded access to and from the border and through the town of Coots.
00:15:38.600 All right.
00:15:39.280 So let's just catch our people up because yesterday was very dramatic.
00:15:43.440 The Mounties presented and on the other side, the truckers presented.
00:15:48.500 And I really felt like I was watching a movie Braveheart with Mel Gibson.
00:15:52.400 And, you know, the odds were against the Mounties.
00:15:55.580 There were so many more truckers.
00:15:57.400 I mean, unless the Mounties were literally going to take out their firearms and start, God forbid, shooting.
00:16:02.340 They had no chance and they retreated.
00:16:04.020 And I was wondering what would come next.
00:16:06.220 Now, it sounds like an active, you know, an olive branch from the truckers.
00:16:13.160 But I saw from our one of our journalists, Kian Simone, that and please tell me what you know about this, if you can, that Alberta's backbench conservative MLA is the UCP party.
00:16:27.000 The United Conservative Party, that they have expressed solidarity.
00:16:32.700 And you tell me if I'm wrong on this, that they have indicated that if the truckers open up, they will vote to end the vaccine passport in Alberta.
00:16:43.180 Now, I'm just hearing this through Kian Simone, our reporter.
00:16:47.900 Can you tell us anything without giving away confidences?
00:16:52.320 Unfortunately, I just don't have much information.
00:16:55.460 Obviously, in a high-tension situation such as this one, rumors circulate like snow in a blizzard.
00:17:05.300 And we've heard all manner of, you know, fairly surprising developments that may or may not have happened between, you know, some of the MLAs, the RCMP, and how they plan on conducting the enforcement.
00:17:21.620 Frankly, I just don't have the information, but I do understand that there is a growing support for some of the backbencher MLAs in Alberta.
00:17:33.080 And, I mean, they've had support since day one.
00:17:35.720 But it's my understanding that the support has grown and that insurances have been given that there will be progress in Cabinet.
00:17:45.940 So, it'll be interesting to see.
00:17:47.960 But, I mean, a lot of this stuff is speculation.
00:17:51.160 And I'm obviously not at liberty to put names on the table or anything at this point.
00:17:55.980 Yeah.
00:17:56.160 Well, I hope that it's not a trick.
00:17:58.440 One of the reasons the lawyers asked us – sorry, the truckers asked us to crowdfund you to help them in this de-escalation negotiations is that they said to me that they felt that the RCMP was tricking them, was breaking their promises, and were not reliable or honest.
00:18:16.300 Now, I'm just saying what they said.
00:18:17.720 So, bringing you in there to help make sure that things go fairly, I'm worried because I don't know who is behind the scenes on the RCMP.
00:18:27.540 It's a federal police force that has a contract with the province.
00:18:30.900 So, I don't know if it's Jason Kenney or if it's the prime minister.
00:18:33.640 In some ways, this is a federal matter.
00:18:35.680 It's a border crossing.
00:18:37.140 That's a federal matter.
00:18:38.540 The RCMP are a federal police force.
00:18:41.560 The vaccine mandating question for truckers is a federal thing.
00:18:46.020 So, those three elements tell me this is a federal police operation, but they are working in Alberta under a contract to the province.
00:18:53.400 So, I don't really know who the decider is.
00:18:56.900 But let me ask you this, Chad.
00:18:59.660 Earlier today, Aaron O'Toole, the conservative leader federally, was absolutely sacked by his caucus.
00:19:07.260 Like, shockingly, it wasn't even close.
00:19:10.160 And I think that is 100% attributable to his choosing the wrong team on the federal convoy.
00:19:17.480 And you could see the cracks forming when he wouldn't say he stood with them when he refused to meet them.
00:19:22.080 You saw more and more backbench conservative MPs saying, I don't care what Aaron O'Toole says.
00:19:26.440 I know what's right.
00:19:27.660 And it culminated today.
00:19:28.960 He was thrown out.
00:19:29.940 I wouldn't have guessed that a week ago.
00:19:32.880 And so, if I'm hearing rumors that backbench Alberta MLAs are getting a little impatient with Jason Kenney being a mini Trudeau,
00:19:41.140 and if they're saying, hey, truckers, you open up a lane, we'll vote to end this vaccine mandate,
00:19:46.020 I wouldn't have believed it a week ago, Chad, but maybe it's possible.
00:19:50.080 Maybe these truckers are going to actually save us.
00:19:51.980 Yeah, you know, things change.
00:19:55.060 And, I mean, it's easy to take a hard line.
00:19:58.080 But as I said yesterday, enforcement's difficult when you've got 200 pieces of serious heavy equipment on the highway.
00:20:04.640 And moreover, when you have rolling blockades popping up spontaneously across the province,
00:20:11.900 cutting off major supply lines so that hipsters don't get their avocado toast in the morning,
00:20:18.800 it really can have a profound impact on getting politicians to bend the ears to people who are vocal enough to try to elicit some change.
00:20:32.480 And I feel winds of change.
00:20:34.600 I can't believe that Aaron O'Toole was tossed so handily and so aggressively by such an overwhelming vote against him.
00:20:44.880 And I smell similar usurpations in potentially other legislatures and potentially in conservative movements right across the country.
00:20:58.600 I do think conservatives have picked the wrong sides.
00:21:01.100 And, frankly, the truckers represent not just truckers, but there's farmers out here, there's tradesmen.
00:21:07.580 These people are the backbone that really run the industrial and economic infrastructure of our province, of our country.
00:21:17.120 And they're integral to civilization.
00:21:20.340 Yeah.
00:21:20.640 You know, I want to be careful of what I ask you because you have a duty as a lawyer to your clients there.
00:21:26.680 And you have a duty of confidentiality.
00:21:28.920 And I certainly don't want to give anything away.
00:21:30.780 We are crowdfunding your fees.
00:21:33.220 And I know you're down there with a colleague.
00:21:34.720 And if there are any charges against these men, we'll crowdfund those, too.
00:21:38.100 If folks want to chip in, you can go to truckerlawyer.ca.
00:21:42.220 But, Chad, I want to ask you, if you can tell me things without giving things away, what's it like with the men?
00:21:48.300 Who are they?
00:21:49.760 What kind of guys?
00:21:50.760 I can't imagine any of them have done anything close to this in their lives.
00:21:54.520 I can't imagine any of them.
00:21:55.940 Like, they all look like they probably vote conservative, probably pro-police, pro-conservative.
00:22:01.100 This is an extraordinary action by them because they're in a crisis.
00:22:05.980 That's how it looks from here.
00:22:06.820 What does it look like from there in the bosom of the place?
00:22:10.220 Ezra, let me tell you a real quick story.
00:22:13.040 One of the fellows here, he owns a feedlot.
00:22:16.140 And he told me a story unrelated to the blockade.
00:22:20.200 He was out in the feedlot.
00:22:21.540 And he saw a small, starving baby kitten meowing up at him from the mud.
00:22:27.760 And he promised himself that he and his wife would never have any more cats in the house.
00:22:33.480 And he was telling me that the cat is now a senior and is on his bed with him every night.
00:22:38.800 And it's the genuine compassion for humanity and for living things and for their fellow Albertans that really binds this community together.
00:22:48.260 The food that has been brought in, the salt of the earth nature of the people that have taken up this cause from all industries, agriculture, trucking, trades.
00:23:01.520 We've got business owners.
00:23:03.080 We've got ranchers and cattle folk.
00:23:06.720 These are true Albertans.
00:23:10.940 And there's children down here.
00:23:13.940 There's wives.
00:23:15.680 There's all sorts of unbelievable people.
00:23:19.680 People from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds as well.
00:23:22.720 Dutchmen.
00:23:23.320 We've got Germans.
00:23:24.700 We've got Norwegians.
00:23:26.060 We've got folks whose families immigrated here 100 years ago.
00:23:30.020 And there is Albertan as the Norwegian trucker that just got his permanent residency paper.
00:23:35.700 So these people are the essence of what makes Canada a great place to live and what makes Alberta one of the finest places on the planet.
00:23:47.280 I'm just so touched.
00:23:48.760 Every time I get to hear one of their stories about how the economic wreckage of the pandemic policies have impacted their lives and cost them jobs and money and given them stress and grief beyond belief.
00:24:05.320 And frankly, they're still peaceful.
00:24:07.540 They're still compassionate.
00:24:08.920 They just want their voices heard.
00:24:10.440 And that's something that's very touching to me and maybe alien to people who live in the cities and who don't have access to talk with these types of people and hear their stories.
00:24:22.340 They're all human beings, and they do all have individual stories that are touching, just like that cat story.
00:24:28.700 I couldn't believe it.
00:24:29.980 You know, he's a big burly trucker, and I just get this picture of this guy with this little kitten just reaching out to another living thing.
00:24:37.460 And there's something magical about that, and that really embodies the love and the passion of the people down here.
00:24:45.380 Let me ask you a couple of specific questions.
00:24:47.600 I know for a while there the police had sealed off the whole village, or at least the blockade, and were stopping food, medicine, and fuel,
00:24:57.480 the latter being necessary to keep the trucks running because these truckers are staying in their trucks.
00:25:03.720 There's not 500 hotel rooms in this tiny village.
00:25:06.420 So they were basically trying to starve them out, freeze them out, and in the case of medicine, I don't know, sick them out.
00:25:13.940 I don't think that's lawful, by the way.
00:25:18.240 That's collective punishment.
00:25:19.800 I think that's a really gross thing.
00:25:21.960 Has that police blockade, the police checkpoints, has that been lifted, at least for food, fuel, and medicine?
00:25:31.220 Well, technically at this point, no.
00:25:36.200 That's something that we're going to be addressing with the authorities in very short order.
00:25:39.900 But what I think is just kind of interesting is it's pandemonium down here.
00:25:45.480 They've set up blockades, and of course there are allegations of people ramming barricades and everything else.
00:25:51.160 It's my understanding that things were much tamer than that, and it was essentially just four-by-fours going around a simple blockade
00:25:58.840 that was set up on one direction of travel.
00:26:01.640 But moreover, throughout the night, there were people arriving from every which way.
00:26:06.880 So it's my understanding there's back roads, and that the RCMP have really had a difficult time keeping, much to their dismay.
00:26:15.020 I believe that they would like to continue to disrupt operations down here, but they've had limited success.
00:26:24.100 And I think because of some of the creativity and the forcefulness of some of the protesters and their supporters,
00:26:34.460 and the support is tremendous, to have labeled it, you know, these folks as a minority or, you know, a small, fringe movement.
00:26:45.860 I mean, this is southern Alberta, and it seems like everybody's on board.
00:26:49.920 Yeah.
00:26:50.240 You know, it's different when you're in a big city.
00:26:53.860 Policing is very different.
00:26:54.960 Police know every square meter of things.
00:26:57.720 They know it better than anyone.
00:26:59.060 They have massive reinforcements they can call, and they have special equipment they can bring in quickly.
00:27:05.500 There's not a big police contingent.
00:27:07.460 I doubt there's even a policeman stationed in Coutts that are coming in.
00:27:11.400 So these folks don't know the lay of the land.
00:27:13.960 They don't have easy reinforcements or backup.
00:27:17.240 They don't have special equipment.
00:27:18.540 It sounds a little more like that 70s TV show, The Dukes of Hazzard, where you've got sort of these cops trying to chase them Dukes boys,
00:27:28.420 except for instead of Hazzard County in the south, it's the freezing prairies.
00:27:34.740 And the Dukes boys, in this case, are local farmers or tradesmen who just say,
00:27:38.740 oh, I know how to get something to those guys, and these city cops don't know what they're doing.
00:27:42.780 That's just in my mind.
00:27:43.940 I mean, I'm not down there.
00:27:44.620 I'm imagining it.
00:27:45.360 It's a very different policing situation, and when we saw that showdown yesterday,
00:27:50.280 I mean, I'm sure some of these cops are thinking, what am I doing?
00:27:52.960 Why am I enforcing some health order?
00:27:55.700 I joined the police to go after murderers and kidnappers,
00:27:59.560 and here I am going after law-abiding conservative truckers because they're refusing to show their health papers.
00:28:07.660 This is a crisis.
00:28:09.020 I think it's a crisis of policing.
00:28:12.080 The community no longer consents to this policing,
00:28:14.560 and so the policing is breaking down.
00:28:18.360 I mean, it's a huge problem, and you see that even in urban environments where, you know,
00:28:24.680 I mean, if there's an investigation underway and simply there are no witnesses that will come forward
00:28:29.240 and, you know, a population that simply won't cooperate to assist law enforcement,
00:28:36.180 it creates some real logistical issues.
00:28:39.340 Now, again, down here, you throw in some pretty aggressive and gnarly terrain,
00:28:44.800 minus 25-degree centigrade weather with blowing howling winds, snows, blowing snows,
00:28:52.000 and a blockade that was extraordinarily robust and quite unique because of the various pieces of heavy equipment
00:29:00.780 in peculiar shapes and sizes, agricultural gear, tractors, John Deere's, and full 18-wheelers packed to the rims.
00:29:09.740 I mean, I'm sure that the resources to conduct enforcement would eventually have been made available,
00:29:17.900 and I think that that was kind of the end game, but it wasn't as easy as they may have thought.
00:29:23.420 And frankly, we're seeing all across the country, we're seeing just out in Saskatchewan,
00:29:29.460 we've got announcements of restrictions being lifted.
00:29:32.580 So while there's not an overt victory here, we're starting to see the tide turn,
00:29:37.880 and I am undoubtedly assured that that is because of the efforts of these protesters
00:29:43.280 and people standing up for what they believe in.
00:29:45.660 These truckers have done more for our civil liberties than any opposition politician,
00:29:50.500 than any judge, than any public health official, than any media type.
00:29:57.680 These truckers have done more for our freedom, more to save our country than any other force.
00:30:02.940 I credit them not only for the changes in Saskatchewan,
00:30:06.060 but for the change in the Conservative Party of Canada that happened so quickly today.
00:30:10.140 It's like it got hit by a truck.
00:30:12.140 I credit, I see an opinion poll that shows that 15 points moving towards end the lockdowns
00:30:20.260 in the last week.
00:30:21.000 There's no other phenomenon that this could be ascribed to besides the truckers.
00:30:25.480 Chad, is there anything you need from us?
00:30:28.100 We, I remember when I called you up a couple nights ago, it was, it was nighttime already.
00:30:32.460 I said, hey, guess what?
00:30:33.720 You're going to Coots.
00:30:35.680 And you accepted the mission very graciously and quickly.
00:30:39.260 And you, you went down there.
00:30:41.000 So you're representing these folks.
00:30:42.940 And the goal is de-escalate, keep people safe, help them legally.
00:30:46.640 You've got two other lawyers with you.
00:30:48.020 We're going to defend these folks if they get any tickets or charges.
00:30:50.840 If folks want to help, they can go to truckerlawyer.ca.
00:30:53.980 Other than, you know, covering your fees, which we're happy to do,
00:30:59.100 is there anything that you need from us?
00:31:01.160 Anything, any advice you'd like to give us?
00:31:03.660 Not just us at Rebel News, but our viewers.
00:31:06.300 What should we be doing to help?
00:31:07.540 Well, one thing that I should, that I should quickly point out is that despite
00:31:13.560 often wearing a suit and being in an office tower in downtown Calgary,
00:31:17.800 I really am an Albertan and a cowboy at heart, even though I'm not riding on horses.
00:31:22.820 And it's an honor and a privilege to be able to fight for salt of the earth at Albertans,
00:31:27.700 especially when I'm called at the last minute to fly down.
00:31:31.180 And in terms of the financial support, that's going to assist us in the potential charges
00:31:35.560 that still very much put these protesters at risk of prosecution.
00:31:41.920 And we're going to be there to assist them in any way we can,
00:31:45.360 throwing together defenses and investigating any charges that get laid.
00:31:51.220 One thing that Rebel has done so well, and I suppose that the mainstream media has almost done
00:31:56.980 to themselves is show, in a sense, that the emperor really has no clothes.
00:32:02.720 And some of the bizarre narrative spins, the accusations of racism in the face of a tremendously
00:32:09.640 diverse cultural group, of course, down in Ottawa.
00:32:12.880 I mean, there's people of all shapes and sizes and from everywhere.
00:32:17.600 I think that just poking holes in the bizarre world narrative that is being spun
00:32:27.020 by some of the folks with sinister intentions in this country, that is crucial.
00:32:33.200 And as long as we no longer accept those narratives and see the truth for what it is,
00:32:38.600 we'll be freer than we can possibly imagine.
00:32:41.880 We've only begun work in that respect.
00:32:43.640 Well said.
00:32:45.160 Well, thank you so much for going down there on short notice.
00:32:47.580 I really do think you're a great fit.
00:32:49.780 You know, you're a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.
00:32:52.440 You're a lawyer, but you have your feet on the ground.
00:32:55.160 And I think you came in in the nick of time.
00:32:57.620 Literally, had you been hours later, I think we would have missed a key moment there
00:33:01.860 when the RCMP tried to make their move a couple days ago.
00:33:04.860 We're recording this.
00:33:05.900 It's now just after 4 p.m. Eastern time.
00:33:08.700 So there may be some movement between now and when this video airs in a few hours tonight.
00:33:13.980 I hope there is, frankly.
00:33:15.860 I hope that the Alberta Rural Caucus keeps their promise and does to Jason Kenney.
00:33:21.180 I'm not saying fire the lad, but maybe impress upon him that the pandemic lockdown is over,
00:33:27.380 whether or not he wants to drive the truck or be hit by it.
00:33:32.000 Chad, great to see you.
00:33:33.040 Keep in touch.
00:33:33.980 And folks, if you want to help Chad, go to truckerlawyer.ca.
00:33:36.720 Stay safe down there, my friend.
00:33:39.280 It's an honor and a privilege, Ezra, and thanks to all the wonderful supporters that we have across the country.
00:33:44.920 Right on.
00:33:45.380 I'll pass on your thanks.
00:33:46.160 There you have it.
00:33:46.580 Chad Williamson.
00:33:47.720 He's our lawyer that we have crowdfunded to help these truckers.
00:33:50.560 Stay with us more ahead.
00:34:03.640 Hey, welcome back.
00:34:04.600 Your viewer feedback.
00:34:05.300 Bill Snow says when Pierre Polyev is elected, he should put up a monument to the truckers in front of parliament.
00:34:12.360 Yeah, we didn't have a chance to go deep on it today.
00:34:14.240 But incredible and absolutely related to the convoy is the Conservative Party voted, and it wasn't even close, to get rid of Aaron O'Toole as the leader.
00:34:23.300 I mean, he thought he could hang on.
00:34:26.220 He thought it would be close.
00:34:27.480 He thought he could, I don't know, cajole, threaten, beg, borrow.
00:34:30.660 It just, boom.
00:34:31.820 It was overwhelming.
00:34:33.680 And, again, I just don't think there's any other proximate cause besides the truckers.
00:34:39.280 He so mishandled it.
00:34:40.520 Instead of being Ron DeSantis, he was, I don't know, Andrew Cuomo.
00:34:46.100 Didn't work out for either Cuomo or O'Toole, did it?
00:34:51.380 Melon Baller says, thank you for covering this.
00:34:56.000 You're one of the only media entities providing updates.
00:34:58.540 I will give credit to our friends at True North who were there covering the convoy in Ottawa, our alumnus Kian Bextie, and there were a few other independent media.
00:35:09.360 But most of the media was absolutely just doing stenography for the federal government.
00:35:15.060 It's just incredible to see it now.
00:35:16.380 I just saw that the mayor of, or the Ottawa police chief, I'll just read it on my phone.
00:35:21.900 I literally saw it moments ago, is the Ottawa police chief says the city is considering requesting help for the Canadian armed forces to deal with the trucker protest, to deal with the protest.
00:35:34.140 They're not violent.
00:35:36.060 Violence is about to be done to them.
00:35:37.360 That's Hugo Chavez style.
00:35:38.460 That goes with what we were talking about today.
00:35:39.960 One more letter from Sarah.
00:35:41.940 The Truckers for Freedom 2022 are doing what the GOP should have done.
00:35:47.300 Yeah, what the GOP stands for the Grand Old Party, that's a nickname for the Republicans.
00:35:51.260 It's what the Canadian conservatives should have done too.
00:35:54.180 And the Canadian media.
00:35:55.380 You know, I've done so many interviews in the last 36 hours with foreign media.
00:36:00.520 I did Megyn Kelly's show today.
00:36:04.140 I did a range of online shows and foreign broadcasters.
00:36:08.360 We've had the Daily Mail in London, England, asked to use our videos.
00:36:12.480 Our videos have been on Fox News.
00:36:14.140 Like so much interest in foreign countries.
00:36:16.500 But in Canada, the media is so obedient.
00:36:18.400 It's really weird.
00:36:20.040 Let me leave you with our video of the day.
00:36:21.500 Alexa Lavoie doing streeters in Ottawa.
00:36:25.480 She's doing a great job in French and English.
00:36:27.400 I'll let you go with that video.
00:36:29.080 I'll be back tomorrow with a very special feature-length interview.
00:36:31.840 Just a great show, if I may say so myself.
00:36:34.240 I think you'll enjoy it.
00:36:35.720 Until tomorrow, on behalf of all of us here at Rebel World Highquarters, see you at home.
00:36:39.180 Good night.
00:36:40.180 Keep fighting for freedom.
00:36:41.280 Go!
00:36:41.560 Go!
00:36:42.000 Go!
00:36:42.500 Go!
00:36:42.560 Go!
00:36:43.060 Go!
00:36:43.500 Go!
00:36:43.560 Go!
00:36:44.060 Go!
00:36:44.560 Go!
00:36:45.060 Go!
00:36:45.560 Go!
00:36:46.060 Go!
00:36:46.560 Go!
00:36:47.060 Go!
00:36:47.560 Go!
00:36:48.060 Go!
00:36:48.560 Go!
00:36:49.560 Go!
00:36:50.560 Go!
00:36:51.560 Go!
00:36:52.560 Go!
00:36:53.560 Go!
00:36:54.560 Go!
00:36:55.560 Go!
00:36:56.560 Go!
00:36:57.560 All out together, we're supporting this country.
00:36:59.500 We're doing it for Canada.
00:37:01.580 That's it.
00:37:02.060 Go!
00:37:02.560 Go!
00:37:03.060 Go!
00:37:03.560 Go!
00:37:04.560 Go!
00:37:05.060 Go!
00:37:05.560 You think that is a violent or racist like moment?
00:37:08.440 No.
00:37:08.940 The energy is great.
00:37:10.280 The vibe is wicked.
00:37:12.020 There's a lot of love here and everybody's here for the same reason.
00:37:15.440 Here, Alexa for venues, we are the 29th of January in the street of Ottawa, just in front
00:37:27.160 of the Parliament.
00:37:29.540 And as you can see, so much like trucks just come from Toronto or everywhere around Ontario.
00:37:38.920 More convoys is coming from all across Canada.
00:37:42.540 So, if you like it, go to convoyreport.com.
00:37:45.920 You can chip in to help us with our travel expense.
00:37:50.760 And if you want, you can watch all our videos.
00:37:54.340 So keep following us.
00:37:55.920 Well, look, all I heard was that a bunch of racists and misogynists already get together, and that's
00:38:00.140 why I'm here.
00:38:00.800 Is there a different cause?
00:38:01.800 Because I'm here because I'm racist and misogynist.
00:38:06.800 So if there's something else going on, I don't really want to be a part of that.
00:38:09.800 Okay.
00:38:10.800 Sorry.
00:38:11.800 Bye.
00:38:12.800 Just kidding.
00:38:13.800 Just kidding.
00:38:14.800 We just want to prove a point.
00:38:16.800 We're proving for all truckers.
00:38:20.300 The other truckers are still hauling.
00:38:22.680 We're here.
00:38:23.680 So how long do you plan to stay here?
00:38:25.680 Until it's done.
00:38:27.680 That's it.
00:38:28.680 So do you have enough goods for...
00:38:32.680 For a week, two weeks, three weeks, we're here.
00:38:38.080 As long as it needs, we need to stay.
00:38:41.080 Do you have enough for...
00:38:42.080 Oh, yes.
00:38:43.080 Plenty.
00:38:44.080 We are ready.
00:38:45.080 Yeah?
00:38:46.080 Plenty of food, plenty of water, fuel tube.
00:38:49.080 Oh, that's great.
00:38:50.080 We are ready for a couple of weeks at least.
00:38:52.080 We'll stay here until next year.
00:38:54.080 Yeah?
00:38:55.080 If we have to.
00:38:56.080 Forever?
00:38:57.080 Yes.
00:38:58.080 That's big.
00:38:59.080 Yes.
00:39:00.080 So you're ready?
00:39:01.080 We're ready.
00:39:03.080 A lot of people are ready for it?
00:39:05.080 Of course.
00:39:06.080 Yeah?
00:39:07.080 Yeah.
00:39:08.080 We're here for our freedom.
00:39:10.080 Everyone is united.
00:39:11.080 I've never seen an unification like that in Canada.
00:39:14.080 It's a challenge.
00:39:16.080 And we have to continue like that.
00:39:18.080 So where are you from?
00:39:19.080 Hamilton, Ontario.
00:39:20.080 Amazing turnout.
00:39:21.080 Yeah, just super patriotic.
00:39:23.080 And I love seeing everybody all happy and united.
00:39:25.080 It's fantastic.
00:39:26.080 It's what Canada is about.
00:39:27.080 So the media mainstream tried to discredit yourself.
00:39:30.080 Yeah.
00:39:31.080 All you feel about it and what do you have to say about it too?
00:39:35.080 Well, I'd like to say I'm shocked, but I'm not because that's how the media is with anything that doesn't go with their narrative, right?
00:39:40.080 So, yeah.
00:39:41.080 I don't know.
00:39:42.080 I think it's BS.
00:39:43.080 It shouldn't be the way it is because in Canada we're supposed to be a free country.
00:39:46.080 So you're supposed to be able to express yourself and do what you got to do.
00:39:48.080 You know what I mean?
00:39:49.080 Yeah.
00:39:50.080 And just as your dad said, it's a fringe minority that's coming in Ottawa.
00:39:56.080 What do you have to say about it?
00:39:58.080 I think it's funny because clearly here today it's not a fringe minority.
00:40:02.080 And the amount of trucks that are coming tomorrow from out west and out east.
00:40:05.080 Yeah.
00:40:06.080 We're not the minority like they've been saying for the last two years.
00:40:09.080 So, yeah.
00:40:10.080 Do you think that it will change something?
00:40:12.080 Oh, 100%.
00:40:13.080 Because we're not leaving until it does change something.
00:40:15.080 So, how long are you prepared to stay for?
00:40:18.080 I have enough stuff in here to stay for a couple of weeks if I have to.
00:40:20.080 Wow.
00:40:21.080 Oh, yeah.
00:40:22.080 I'm not going anywhere.
00:40:23.080 Great.
00:40:24.080 Thank you very much.
00:40:25.080 Have a good night.
00:40:26.080 You too.
00:40:27.080 That's awesome.
00:40:28.080 So, during all the weekend we are covering the convoy.
00:40:44.080 The freedom convoy that's come from all across Canada.
00:40:48.080 So, if you want to help us to cover all our travel expense and as well our life report,
00:40:56.080 go to convoyreports.com, tip in generously and you can as well sign the petition.
00:41:05.080 Bye-bye.
00:41:06.080 For the whole family members over a larger д
00:41:21.760 We're coming to the internal doc.
00:41:23.080 If the residencies have any questions.
00:41:24.080 Bye-bye.
00:41:25.080 Bye-bye.
00:41:26.080 We'll see you during the match.
00:41:27.080 Bye-bye.
00:41:28.080 Bye.
00:41:30.080 Bye here.
00:41:32.080 Thank you.