Rebel News Podcast - March 22, 2023


EZRA LEVANT ｜ Canadian conservatives are finding their voice again


Episode Stats

Length

46 minutes

Words per Minute

179.29399

Word Count

8,416

Sentence Count

721

Misogynist Sentences

7

Hate Speech Sentences

10


Summary

Tonight, an interview with a dozen conservative activists at the Conservative Conference in Ottawa, Canada. I used to go to this conference a lot when I was in the Harper years, but I stopped going. Now I'm back, and I'm pleased to see that the emphasis has moved away from lobbyists and towards the idea battlers, the happy warriors.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Tonight, an interview with half a dozen conservative activists at a conference in Ottawa.
00:00:20.960 It's March 22nd, and this is the Ezra LeVant Show.
00:00:23.780 As you can see by the buildings behind me, that's the Chateau Laurier, and the temporary home of the House of Commons is this former railway station while they renovate the old House of Commons.
00:00:50.600 I am in Ottawa. I'm standing atop the Westin Hotel, which is the venue for the annual conference that used to be called the Manning Center Conference, named after Preston Manning.
00:01:01.900 Now it's called the Canada Strong and Free Conference. It's a conservative conference.
00:01:06.900 The new leader of the group is Jamil Giovanni, a conservative activist. I think he's doing a great job.
00:01:12.780 Now, I used to attend this conference back in the day. It's been going on for more than a decade.
00:01:19.480 I stopped going during the Harper years. You would think that would be the time to go to a conservative conference.
00:01:26.580 Conservatives were in power. Conservatives were making changes.
00:01:29.620 But that was actually the worst time to go to a conservative ideas conference because it was invaded.
00:01:36.120 It was colonized by lobbyists who simply wanted face time and influence with politicians.
00:01:43.360 And so instead of having activists who believed in ideas, you had well-heeled people spreading cash around trying to get this grant or pass that bill or get this regulation changed.
00:01:55.320 It wasn't my kind of thing, and I just stopped going.
00:01:58.460 But I'm back, and I'm glad. Not only does it feel like a sort of political family reunion, but I'm pleased to see that the emphasis has moved away from the lobbyists and back to the idea battlers, the happy warriors.
00:02:14.060 I'm sure if Pierre Paglia becomes prime minister and attends or his cabinet ministers attend this event, the pendulum will swing back towards the influence peddlers and seekers.
00:02:24.680 It's just natural, and in a democracy, it should be expected, I suppose.
00:02:28.580 But I enjoyed listening to the panels talk about ideas.
00:02:32.720 And in the hallways, I would bump into interesting people, some of whom I had only seen on social media, some of whom I had only seen on video, and some of whom I had seen in person and knew from battles in the past.
00:02:45.360 For example, our friend Robbie Picard.
00:02:47.340 So today's Ezra Levant show is actually going to be a half a dozen interviews with a range of people that I bumped into at the conference.
00:02:59.200 Not much of a monologue, but half a dozen short interviews, a little chilly outside, with people just to give you a flavor of it.
00:03:06.620 Some of them are very brief.
00:03:08.040 Someone I met today for the first time.
00:03:10.180 For example, a refugee from Hugo Chavez's Venezuela and her warning to Canadians.
00:03:16.940 Other people you've probably seen on the news in Rebel News before.
00:03:21.040 Josh Alexander, who is fighting with his own Catholic school over his opposition to men using women's bathrooms.
00:03:30.600 Chantelle Fall, another case we've talked about Rebel News before.
00:03:33.520 Without further ado, I present to you half a dozen vignettes of conservative activists at the Conservative Conference.
00:03:53.160 Well, you come to a Conservative Conference in Canada, and you're going to find our friends from True North, especially one of their lead journalists, Andrew Lawton.
00:04:01.060 And if I'm not seeing you here in Ottawa at a Conservative Conference, I'll see you in Davos covering the World Economic Forum.
00:04:07.360 It's great to see you.
00:04:08.620 What is this conference?
00:04:11.060 It's called a networking conference.
00:04:12.940 Who is here and what's it like?
00:04:14.860 Well, it's always been, I mean, billed as a place for the Conservative movement.
00:04:18.400 And they always emphasize historically Lower Sea Conservative case, and people can take from that what they will.
00:04:23.580 But I think the most important aspect of this is that you're talking about a program that's driven by real people and not as much by politicians.
00:04:31.380 And that's something that the President, Jamil Javani, has spoken about actually on my show, about how, yeah, obviously you've got party leaders and MPs and whatnot that are here.
00:04:39.820 But they really should be listening to people.
00:04:42.640 And I think that's true whether you're here in Ottawa or anywhere else in the country.
00:04:45.800 You know, I remember coming to these conferences about a decade ago.
00:04:49.800 They were called the Manning Center.
00:04:52.080 It's no longer called the Manning Center.
00:04:53.480 Preston Manning, he's 80 now.
00:04:55.300 He's focused on other things.
00:04:57.080 You mentioned the new CEO, Jamil Javani.
00:04:59.140 I think that's a healthy thing.
00:05:00.860 And during the Harper years, this conference felt very official, very corporate.
00:05:05.760 Tons of lobby groups were there to jockey, to get in front of cabinet ministers.
00:05:10.420 Maybe it's because the Conservative movement is in the wilderness right now.
00:05:14.300 It's more grassrootsy, more principled.
00:05:17.660 And there's still some lobbyists here, but I think there's more ideas people than I've seen during the Harper years, for example.
00:05:24.420 What do you think of that?
00:05:25.740 That's my point of view.
00:05:26.900 I don't know if I'm wrong.
00:05:28.080 No, I think you're right.
00:05:28.980 And I also think there's been a big shift in just the political landscape.
00:05:32.320 I mean, one notable example back in those days was the level of corporate sponsorship here.
00:05:36.780 You had all these big corporations, banks and airlines that were throwing some money behind it.
00:05:41.320 And obviously, I don't have access to any internal information.
00:05:44.300 There are still some signs of corporate sponsorship, but corporations in general have gone so woke in the last few years, in particular.
00:05:51.940 And a lot of them do not want anything to do with conservatism.
00:05:54.960 It's not that they don't want anything to do with politics.
00:05:56.960 They don't want anything to do with conservative politics.
00:05:59.100 And I think that really has reoriented people in the right-of-center movement, whether you're conservatives or libertarians, that you have to go it alone.
00:06:07.920 And you have to be okay being the outliers and outcasts of society.
00:06:12.520 And that's an increasingly difficult proposition for people, but it's an important one.
00:06:17.300 You know, Rebel News, it's in our name.
00:06:19.240 We're rebellious.
00:06:20.060 We're outsiders.
00:06:20.760 Although we always crave to be in the center of the news, it's sort of a contradiction.
00:06:27.560 I feel comfortable amongst grassroots populists.
00:06:30.420 And there's a trade show here.
00:06:31.920 I just walked through it.
00:06:32.980 You have the Justice Center for Constitutional Freedom.
00:06:35.720 You have vaccine skeptics.
00:06:37.260 You have all sorts of groups that are true conservative.
00:06:39.540 Maybe that kind of grassroots, rough-and-tumble conservative populism doesn't really fit with sponsored by Facebook, sponsored by Amazon.
00:06:50.100 Actually, Facebook is one of the sponsors here.
00:06:52.080 I don't know.
00:06:52.920 I find it interesting.
00:06:54.820 I'm glad to be here.
00:06:56.020 I heard something on a panel this morning.
00:06:58.300 One of the speakers, I forget his name, said he asked a bunch of conservative candidates to define what is a woman.
00:07:06.700 You know, that Matt Walls question.
00:07:08.480 And it's an absurd question that any first grader could answer.
00:07:12.600 But politically correct politicians, even who call themselves conservative, are afraid to say an adult female woman, you know.
00:07:20.020 And I think that's part of it.
00:07:24.460 I think the cancel culture, being afraid of the mob, I think it is soaked even into conservative parties, certainly the last conservative leader.
00:07:32.980 What do you think about that?
00:07:34.200 Well, it has.
00:07:34.700 And, I mean, you look at the last two conservative elections, and I think they show very interesting contrast.
00:07:39.500 In 2019, you had Andrew Scheer, who, despite being a pro-life social conservative, ran away from that position during the campaign.
00:07:46.800 And then you have Aaron O'Toole, who was everything that all of the moderates and the red Tories and the media and the liberals said a conservative leader should be.
00:07:54.020 He was moderate.
00:07:54.860 He was from the GTA.
00:07:55.980 He was pro-choice.
00:07:56.940 He didn't want to touch social issues.
00:07:58.800 And he lost.
00:07:59.800 He lost to Justin Trudeau yet again.
00:08:02.140 So this idea that the conservatives can win by becoming like the liberals has been completely debunked, completely and utterly debunked.
00:08:12.260 And I think that the 2021 election should be the death knell to that narrative that still permeates in some ways within conservative politics.
00:08:20.140 Now, I know you're here to do your own journalism, and I saw some of your True North team.
00:08:24.140 Very exciting.
00:08:25.900 I love the young guys you've got going.
00:08:27.500 What's the best way for people to keep in touch with what you're up to?
00:08:30.820 What's the best way for them to stay connected to Andrew Lawton?
00:08:33.440 Well, obviously, my work and my show at True North is a big vehicle for that, and I also have my own Substack, andrewlawton.substack.com.
00:08:40.160 And, like you, I have a bit of Twitter fever from time to time.
00:08:43.040 So, add Andrew Lawton on Twitter.
00:08:44.500 Well, it's great to see you here.
00:08:45.660 The fact that you are here tells me this is a good place to be.
00:08:47.940 Andrew Lawton, certainly one of the good guys.
00:08:50.360 I'm going to go back into the conference now.
00:08:52.120 It really is a kind of political reunion.
00:08:54.240 There's people here from all across the country, and I'm glad to be here.
00:08:58.560 Stay with us.
00:08:59.060 More ahead.
00:09:08.200 I'm here at the Conservative Networking Conference.
00:09:11.120 It used to be called the Manning Centre Networking Conference.
00:09:14.320 Now it's Canada Strong and Free.
00:09:16.260 A new leader of the organization, Jamil Giovanni.
00:09:19.200 One of the things I like about it this year, as opposed to, say, a decade ago, is the emphasis is less on elected, conservative cabinet ministers.
00:09:27.580 There aren't any.
00:09:28.540 The party's in opposition.
00:09:29.400 And there's a lot of grassroots activists, including the young lady I'm talking with now, Chanel Fall.
00:09:35.020 I know you are a fighter in the very important sphere of education and things like that.
00:09:41.600 You've also been in some legal battles.
00:09:43.800 Why don't you, for viewers who aren't familiar with your case, give maybe a one-minute summary of the fight you're in.
00:09:49.340 I understand the Democracy Fund was helping you, which makes me feel good.
00:09:52.780 But give me a little bit of an update of what battle were you in, what's the status of that fight, and what's next?
00:09:58.720 Sure.
00:09:59.560 So it's been about two years now.
00:10:01.800 I've been investigated it a few times.
00:10:04.500 And it all started with a Facebook comment I put out.
00:10:07.700 I said we shouldn't indoctrinate kids with critical race theory.
00:10:11.440 I was investigated for that.
00:10:13.160 I was suspended.
00:10:13.700 Who investigated you?
00:10:14.660 I was investigated by my school board first.
00:10:18.200 So you're a classroom teacher?
00:10:19.980 What's your position in the school?
00:10:21.620 I'm no longer teaching now.
00:10:23.280 But at the time, I was a high school teacher.
00:10:25.280 I taught mostly science.
00:10:27.220 And they came after me for that.
00:10:29.020 Who complained?
00:10:30.560 A teacher, an Ontario teacher.
00:10:33.120 I didn't know.
00:10:34.200 I had never met her.
00:10:36.060 And I had never interacted with her.
00:10:38.220 She's just a Facebook.
00:10:39.260 She was in the Facebook group.
00:10:40.220 So literally, some teacher who's never had anything to do with you or your classroom saw you making a comment online and thought she would try and get you fired.
00:10:48.520 Yeah, she thought it was offensive and harmful and that I should be removed from my position or educated.
00:10:53.640 What exactly had you said?
00:10:55.260 I said kids should not be indoctrinated with critical race theory.
00:10:59.820 Schools should be nonpartisan.
00:11:01.920 And teachers should model kindness to everyone and speak out against every form of discrimination they see,
00:11:07.520 including discrimination against white people, which comes from the anti-racist movement.
00:11:15.220 Because the anti-racists want us to believe that whites are inherently racist and, you know, they're permanently guilty of some kind of sin.
00:11:25.280 So how did that complaint conclude?
00:11:29.320 So it concluded with I was suspended for a week and I'm still appealing it now.
00:11:34.640 My union is helping me with that.
00:11:36.220 That's good to hear.
00:11:36.860 But then a year later, it escalated to the level of the Ontario College of Teachers, which is when the Democracy Fund stepped in and helped out.
00:11:46.740 So they supported me for close to a year and then they decided to back off.
00:11:52.520 Now the latest is that they've now...
00:11:54.860 Who backed off?
00:11:55.580 The Democracy Fund or...?
00:11:56.500 The Ontario College of Teachers.
00:11:58.780 Oh, good.
00:11:59.100 So the Democracy Fund stayed with you.
00:12:00.980 The Democracy Fund stayed with me.
00:12:02.440 Okay, I just wanted to make sure because I love the Democracy Fund and I'm glad they didn't back up.
00:12:06.560 So the teachers backed up.
00:12:07.600 So maybe the Democracy Fund helped scare them away.
00:12:09.640 I think that's what happened, yeah.
00:12:11.140 I mean, I think it helps when you have some constitutional lawyers who are saying, look, we're allowed to have some opinions in Canada.
00:12:19.820 I'm glad to hear that.
00:12:20.800 But is there a second part to this story?
00:12:22.900 There is.
00:12:23.520 Unfortunately, less than a month after this first investigation concluded, they now launched a second investigation.
00:12:30.920 And it has to do with a tweet they didn't like.
00:12:34.080 A tweet.
00:12:34.780 A tweet.
00:12:36.000 A tweet.
00:12:37.440 So back in October of this year, I decided to try to get involved.
00:12:41.140 I ran for school board trustee in my local zone there.
00:12:45.680 And an employee of the public Ottawa school board sent me an email and I shared that email and they did not like that.
00:12:56.760 The email was about a board-wide initiative that the board had started.
00:13:02.920 And basically what it was was after school virtual hangouts with kids.
00:13:07.720 So, but it wasn't just for all kids.
00:13:09.700 It was for specific kids.
00:13:12.080 So they would have, on Monday, they would have the Muslim kids hangout.
00:13:16.200 And on Tuesday, it would be the LGBT kids hangout.
00:13:19.420 And so I wanted to share that information with parents.
00:13:22.300 I thought it was relevant.
00:13:24.740 And I was running for the school board.
00:13:26.760 I wanted changes in the school board.
00:13:28.500 So that's why I shared it.
00:13:29.900 And, yeah, they didn't like that.
00:13:31.680 Sounds like election interference.
00:13:33.260 They're trying to stop a candidate for the school board.
00:13:36.040 Well, listen, you're exactly the kind of conservative grassroots activist I think the movement needs.
00:13:40.400 I should say that one of the most interesting political outcomes in the last couple years in the United States was the election of Glenn Youngkin as the governor of Virginia, which was a red, I'm sorry, a blue state.
00:13:54.360 It was a Democratic Party state, and it was flipped Republican on the school board issue, on woke teaching in classrooms.
00:14:04.480 I think what happened is a lot of parents, they were at home with their kids watching the Zoom classes for the first time, and they were shocked.
00:14:12.100 And they said, this is nuts.
00:14:13.980 We didn't know this was going on.
00:14:15.740 And if I recall, I think there was like a 14-point flip in that governor's race, and now that state is red because of education.
00:14:25.500 And I think that's a great issue for conservatives.
00:14:28.860 Chantal, you're fighting.
00:14:29.700 I'm glad that the Democracy Fund is fighting with you, and I'm glad that you're here at the conference.
00:14:33.440 Thank you so much.
00:14:34.400 Right on.
00:14:34.760 There you have it.
00:14:35.520 Stay with us.
00:14:36.160 We'll do more interviews as the day goes on.
00:14:38.060 Like I say, one of the most interesting things about this conference are ordinary grassroots people.
00:14:51.340 Yes, there's some politicians here and some fancy folks, but there's some severely normal people who are motivated by the idea of freedom, which is what motivates me.
00:15:00.020 And I just met this young lady moments ago.
00:15:02.540 Her name is Alessandra Polga.
00:15:04.160 I'm looking at your name tag because we just became friends.
00:15:06.480 And you told me a story, and I thought, I want to share this story with our viewers because you bring a warning from Venezuela.
00:15:15.020 Venezuela, which used to be one of the richest countries in the world, has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, a beautiful country.
00:15:22.660 And yet it was destroyed by tyranny.
00:15:24.920 Tell me your story and how you came from Venezuela to Canada.
00:15:29.300 And then tell me the warning for our viewers.
00:15:31.380 Well, I arrived in 2008.
00:15:34.880 I came as a refugee to Canada.
00:15:38.000 I was against Chavez, part of the dissident.
00:15:41.960 That is the reason why I have to run away and came to Canada.
00:15:45.480 And my concern, that probably many Canadians always are in denial, is this system, they go inside the democracies.
00:15:57.240 Chavez arrived to the government for election, and he turned all the system, he destroyed the separation of power, he controlled the social media, he blacked out the freedom of speech,
00:16:10.040 he controlled the army, the national assembly, everything, and they start to change the constitution.
00:16:19.900 They did action, like the emergency act many times in my country, released the civic rights of the population.
00:16:28.440 And what I see right now, a step-by-step that is now getting very faster, like the Bill C-11 and that kind of law, is to reduce the freedom of the population.
00:16:44.280 The inflation that we have right now, the...
00:16:47.380 That also happened in Venezuela, didn't it?
00:16:49.140 Yes, yes.
00:16:49.860 We was the...
00:16:51.340 Venezuela, before Chavez, we are the second-best oil industry, and now we are in the 42 position.
00:16:59.140 They destroy everything.
00:17:00.940 They start with bites and benefits for the population, and the people stop to work.
00:17:07.640 It's against the middle class.
00:17:10.360 And tell me what you see in Canada.
00:17:12.260 You mentioned some of the internet censorship bills, Bill C-11, C-18.
00:17:16.860 You mentioned the Emergencies Act.
00:17:18.500 What are the other things that Trudeau and this government are doing that remind you of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela?
00:17:26.200 What are the warning signs, the early warning signs, that we should be attentive to?
00:17:31.080 Okay.
00:17:31.500 Chavez removed the international news outlets, like...
00:17:36.940 Well, it's not that...
00:17:38.580 CNN.
00:17:39.700 But he removed a few international news, NTN24.
00:17:45.800 And he took control of the news outlets in Venezuela.
00:17:51.420 He controlled the news.
00:17:52.660 If you control the news and the mass media, you control the narrative.
00:17:56.480 And the people heard and listen what they want.
00:17:59.200 The government wants to need to hear.
00:18:01.460 And they don't know the truth, because people are busy, like here, working, studying.
00:18:07.640 And then you turn off your TV to know what is going on.
00:18:10.980 But if you are not listening to the truth, if you are listening to the narrative of the government, they lie to you.
00:18:18.300 And then you believe, because they are...
00:18:20.780 It's supposed that they are your leader.
00:18:23.160 It's supposed that they are working on your behalf.
00:18:25.540 But it's not like that.
00:18:26.640 They are working in their agenda.
00:18:29.280 And they said what they need to say.
00:18:32.200 Well, it's just terrifying.
00:18:34.880 And I note that many of the opponents of the lockdowns over the last two years have been by people who come from authoritarian countries.
00:18:44.720 I heard a lot of Eastern European accents, people from the former Soviet bloc.
00:18:50.200 They were ringing the alarm bells.
00:18:51.760 So to hear you, in your beautiful Spanish accent, warning about what you learned in Venezuela and why you came here, it's certainly a message we should all take to heart.
00:19:01.400 I'm very glad you introduced yourself to me, Alessandra.
00:19:04.300 Thank you.
00:19:04.620 And thank you.
00:19:05.220 And keep fighting for freedom.
00:19:06.480 You already fought for freedom in Venezuela.
00:19:08.620 Thank you for fighting for freedom in Canada.
00:19:10.860 Yeah.
00:19:11.600 Unfortunately, I have to leave everything behind, my homeland.
00:19:17.080 And now Canada is my new homeland.
00:19:19.780 And I was so young when everything started in my country.
00:19:24.740 I don't want that to happen the same here in Canada.
00:19:27.260 I don't want to move again with my family.
00:19:31.880 And that is the reason why I am participating in an event like that and working on behalf of political prisoners,
00:19:39.200 knowing about the torture and how nefast is the socialism.
00:19:43.460 It's my responsibility to warning and work here to that stop that happened here in Canada.
00:19:52.740 Well, message received.
00:19:54.240 And it's a message that so many more people need to hear.
00:19:57.620 Thank you, Alessandra.
00:19:58.800 Stay with us.
00:19:59.480 We'll have more stories from the conference.
00:20:01.180 Well, I'm enjoying myself too much here at the Canada Strong and Free networking events because I'm a schmoozer by nature.
00:20:17.140 Plus, I'm getting on in years.
00:20:18.360 Look at all this gray hair going on.
00:20:19.620 I'm 51, which means I've been around for a bit.
00:20:22.020 And this conference feels a little bit like a family reunion, but not just for folks here in Ottawa, like all fun reunions, people from everywhere.
00:20:29.380 And one of my friends who's spoken at Rebel Live conferences before is Robbie Picard.
00:20:35.580 And Robbie is one of Canada's leading advocates for the oil sands and for ethical oil and oil sands proud, oil sands strong.
00:20:44.620 All these positive words.
00:20:46.520 Great to see you here in Ottawa.
00:20:47.760 Thank you.
00:20:48.180 Thank you for interviewing me.
00:20:49.380 It's been a blast so far and bumping into a lot of old friends.
00:20:52.360 And it's always a pleasure to be in Ottawa for this conference.
00:20:55.300 Well, it's nice to see you.
00:20:55.860 Let's zoom in on, because you've got the hoodie, oil sands strong.
00:20:59.140 And I like the fist.
00:21:00.240 And the reason I like it is this.
00:21:02.380 Because our side, in my view, is too wishy-washy, too shy.
00:21:08.460 We don't have a bad cop.
00:21:09.980 We always have good cops.
00:21:11.000 But you need a bad cop.
00:21:12.080 And by that, I mean someone who's willing to call out the hypocrisy of the Greta Thunbergs, of the Jane Fondas.
00:21:19.540 And because all these Hollywood loveys with the private jets that come up to Fort McMurray, dump on it, and leave.
00:21:25.080 You actually had a very important moment.
00:21:28.980 And I want to play this clip of Robbie accosting Jane Fonda in Fort McMurray.
00:21:37.000 Take a look at the clip.
00:21:38.320 We're from Fort McMurray First Nation.
00:21:40.760 We live in Ansak, Alberta, which is half and our south of Fort McMurray.
00:21:44.920 And we're really proud and honored to be able to host Jane Fonda in our community and in our area of this part of the north.
00:21:54.680 Can you tell me, what was your impression of being a flyover?
00:21:58.000 It's big!
00:22:01.200 It's like someone took my skin and peeled it off my body over a very large surface.
00:22:07.240 I hurt.
00:22:08.520 Made my body ache to watch it.
00:22:10.180 And, you know, and then it's very interesting to do a flyover, which gives you the macro.
00:22:18.220 And then to talk, there's a woman in there who's 89.
00:22:22.000 She's had 12 children.
00:22:23.920 And she said when she grew up, they could bring water from anywhere and drink it and use it.
00:22:30.420 And now they can't.
00:22:32.240 And it's affecting every aspect of their lives.
00:22:36.360 Are you aware that Jim Boucher from the Fort McMurray First Nations just invented $250 million into the oil sands?
00:22:44.140 Are you aware that there's 289 aboriginal businesses?
00:22:46.920 We actually don't have time because that's actually where we're going to Fort McMurray.
00:22:49.720 So could you please stop interrupting CBC?
00:22:52.320 Quit trying to hijack the entire thing.
00:22:54.460 I know who you are.
00:22:55.200 You're not telling the whole story about aboriginally owned businesses you never have.
00:22:58.280 It's great that there's aboriginal owned businesses, but that doesn't mean that you get to tell the story.
00:23:00.880 You don't speak for all the aboriginal businesses.
00:23:02.540 Robby, I think the way you asked her questions, and I know Neil Young, you were involved when he came up.
00:23:09.780 I think that you and your fight back helped stop the parade of the Hollywood lovies to go to Fort McMurray and dump on that town.
00:23:18.580 You know, I'm very proud of that, 100%.
00:23:20.700 There's not been a celebrity visit since.
00:23:23.320 Greta Thunberg came to Fort McMurray, but they were so terrified that they kind of laid low.
00:23:27.280 And I was actually told one time by Mike Kadima from Greenpeace was supposed to debate me, and he said he wouldn't debate me because I'm too aggressive to the environmental.
00:23:36.940 Good, good.
00:23:37.720 Someone's got to be.
00:23:39.480 But I think we need to do a lot more of that.
00:23:42.840 I believe in being assertive and standing up for our resources.
00:23:46.720 I think it's a shame that this horrible prime minister has basically told Germany and Japan no to LNG, natural gas, which would help stabilize the world.
00:23:55.480 And push them into the arms of Qatar, an authoritarian dictatorship.
00:24:00.940 It was nuts when I remember in the early days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
00:24:07.100 And what was their chief weapon?
00:24:08.380 Was it tanks?
00:24:09.120 Was it missiles?
00:24:09.780 It was the oil weapon that gives Russia so much money.
00:24:13.060 And the way to displace that is to replace Russian oil and gas with Canadian oil and gas.
00:24:20.020 And Trudeau literally said, there's no business case for it.
00:24:24.220 Well, tell that to the Qataris who signed the deal.
00:24:26.800 Well, you know, and if you look at the wealth that Saudi Arabia has and...
00:24:30.580 No business case.
00:24:32.020 Like, I mean, we could literally improve the quality of lives for every single Canadian like a thousandfold by just embracing our natural resources like Russia, like Saudi Arabia,
00:24:42.320 like all the Arab countries that have natural gas and oil.
00:24:47.320 So one of the things I'm doing is I've launched a new magazine called Oil and Gas World magazine, and I'm interviewing a lot of people.
00:24:51.640 And my bus is actually in Sudbury right now, but its permanent home is Ontario.
00:24:55.940 And I will be flying to my bus and coming to Ottawa on a frequent basis and kind of using that as a bit of a mobile all-stand strong embassy.
00:25:05.000 Because I think that we need to have a larger voice here in Ottawa.
00:25:08.720 Last time I was in Ottawa, I had a debate with a bunch of people about oil and gas.
00:25:12.740 And it was a heated debate.
00:25:14.260 It was a friendly one.
00:25:15.520 And once I got my points across, they were very, very opened to Alberta.
00:25:20.380 And I don't think people in the city understand that all these buildings and all of this comes from tax money, a good portion of it generated from Fort McMurray.
00:25:29.020 And they seem to forget that in their recession-proof city.
00:25:31.920 And I want to remind them that the more successful Alberta is, the more successful Ottawa is.
00:25:36.940 And I think a lot of people are sick that decisions made in here...
00:25:40.660 We don't have a lot to say.
00:25:41.960 I mean, by the time the election is done in Ontario and Quebec, Albertans, who contribute the most financially to this country, were basically told the direction.
00:25:50.400 And I'm hoping that we would get a stronger voice here.
00:25:52.700 You know, I think about Fort McMurray, and I've been to that amazing city many times.
00:25:55.960 But no one just passes through Fort McMurray.
00:25:58.820 You have to make it your destination.
00:26:00.220 It's not like a hub.
00:26:01.940 I mean, I guess it is to the small northern communities.
00:26:04.420 But no one has a layover in Fort McMurray by chance, as you might in Toronto or Calgary.
00:26:12.420 And the reason I mention that is I wish that so many more people could observe with their eyes what it's really like.
00:26:20.040 The first thing they would say is, oh my gosh, this is a natural wonderland of gorgeous forests and rivers and wildlife, instead of the Greenpeace oil sands pornography of a tailings pond, by the way, that is going to be fully reclaimed.
00:26:38.560 I just wish more decision makers, more influencers in the media could put eyes on it and be toot around by someone.
00:26:45.980 And when I was there, I remember, I felt like you were an honorary mayor.
00:26:49.280 You knew everyone in town.
00:26:50.560 You took me around.
00:26:51.520 We even went out on a speedboat.
00:26:53.580 Here, let me show you.
00:26:54.580 When I was a younger man, and Robbie took me out on a speedboat to see the gorgeous rivers and to show me something that I bet you 99% of critics of the oil sands don't know,
00:27:05.860 which is that the oil sands naturally ooze into the world, into the river, and they have for millions of years.
00:27:13.740 You can reach down to the river and pull up oily sand.
00:27:17.140 It's natural, and it predates industry.
00:27:20.460 Take a look at this.
00:27:21.400 I actually did something silly.
00:27:22.660 I tasted it.
00:27:24.120 Well, wouldn't you?
00:27:24.940 Take a look.
00:27:25.620 This is actually oil sand in the Clearwater River bar that comes out.
00:27:31.560 And you just reach down, and you can see the oil on the surface here.
00:27:35.720 And this is...
00:27:37.420 I see the sheen.
00:27:38.600 I see the rainbow sheen there.
00:27:39.940 That's right, and this is...
00:27:41.660 And it's got a very distinct smell.
00:27:44.640 And that's oil sand.
00:27:46.300 Yeah.
00:27:46.980 And this is a World Heritage River.
00:27:50.160 This...
00:27:50.800 Yeah, that's got an interesting smell, and it's just natural.
00:27:55.880 It's here.
00:27:56.380 It's just...
00:27:57.800 And in the oil sands, we're cleaning it up.
00:28:01.620 Yeah, that's the thing.
00:28:02.800 When you're done with the oil sands, you dump the sand back, which is white, and the oil is shipped to people who use it.
00:28:08.880 Right, who need it.
00:28:09.660 Absolutely.
00:28:10.520 Now, I know what it looks like.
00:28:14.200 I know what it feels like.
00:28:16.080 I know what it smells like.
00:28:18.440 Is it stupid to put your tongue on it and taste it?
00:28:22.640 Yeah.
00:28:23.160 Probably.
00:28:24.540 I just want to...
00:28:25.980 Part of me feels compelled to just taste it.
00:28:30.220 Is that poisonous?
00:28:31.200 It's just like oil.
00:28:32.060 It's just oil, right?
00:28:32.840 Yeah.
00:28:33.880 Have you ever tasted bitumen?
00:28:35.940 I don't think so.
00:28:36.780 Not on purpose.
00:28:37.700 It would be like eating motor oil.
00:28:41.660 So you're saying, don't do it.
00:28:43.600 It's not an Oreo.
00:28:44.800 It's not a crushed up Oreo cookie.
00:28:46.220 See, that's what I'm thinking.
00:28:47.100 I'm thinking that...
00:28:47.840 I know what Oreos taste like.
00:28:49.700 That looks like Oreos.
00:28:50.640 That's amazing.
00:28:51.760 If I had a chunk of Oreo that big...
00:28:54.300 Whoa, look at that.
00:28:54.880 Here, come take his...
00:28:55.840 Come look at this.
00:28:57.000 Look at that.
00:28:58.340 Look at how oily that bitumen...
00:29:00.220 And that's just right here in the Clearwater...
00:29:01.760 It's called the Clearwater River.
00:29:03.080 And that's just right here, seeping into the water year after year, millennium after millennium.
00:29:08.580 I wish you could smell that.
00:29:10.000 It's very...
00:29:11.120 That's what the oil sands smell like.
00:29:12.680 That's the plant.
00:29:14.260 That's what we do.
00:29:15.020 Smells like freedom to me.
00:29:16.280 It starts out black.
00:29:17.940 You go up there, you see the whole area.
00:29:19.660 It starts out black like this.
00:29:21.260 And we turn it white.
00:29:22.820 I'm serious.
00:29:23.600 I'm serious.
00:29:23.860 You know I'm going to taste this.
00:29:25.480 Is it just going to stick on my tongue?
00:29:27.180 It's like a kid on the beach.
00:29:29.380 You put sand in his mouth, spits it out, learns never to do it again.
00:29:35.980 This, you know, it's amazing that this is rolling right out into the river.
00:29:44.380 What does it taste like?
00:29:46.900 Not that bad?
00:29:49.140 If there's no comparison, it tastes like oil sands.
00:29:52.360 Yeah, I mean, it doesn't really taste like anything.
00:29:55.900 I mean, I'm not going to eat it.
00:29:59.300 We're not putting it on the menu.
00:30:00.300 I'm just curious.
00:30:02.460 I mean, I know that there was sort of a childish thing to do, but aren't you curious?
00:30:05.520 I mean, this is the first time I've ever been out here in the heart of this beautiful Clearwater River.
00:30:10.340 Frankly, I have tasted it.
00:30:11.580 I'm working in the mine so long.
00:30:12.920 It's just not something that I feel like eating right now.
00:30:15.180 Yeah, well, I mean, listen, you've been doing this for 40.
00:30:16.920 I just, I want to know everything about bitumen,
00:30:19.060 because I'm certainly not going to learn about it watching David Suzuki's The Nature of Things.
00:30:24.000 Robbie, I had a lot of fun that day.
00:30:25.580 Here's a question for you.
00:30:28.640 Taiwan sometimes flies MPs from Canada to Taiwan to make them see how wonderful it is.
00:30:37.340 Israel, same thing, would fly MPs to Israel.
00:30:40.640 Israel, the thinking being we've got to show people what we're really like to win them over.
00:30:46.660 Is there some way we could bring MPs, not just conservatives, but New Democrats and liberals and bloc even?
00:30:54.860 Do you think it would be a good idea to bring them to the oil sands and give them a friendly tour,
00:30:59.380 not a hate tour led by the green side?
00:31:01.580 So, actually, it's funny you say that.
00:31:03.420 So that's what we're working on right now.
00:31:04.520 So Oil & Gas World Magazine, I have an office now with a boardroom and all that.
00:31:08.220 And half of the interviews I do, we're going to be flying MPs and politicians.
00:31:12.100 I'm actually working on trying to get Dr. Jordan Peterson a helicopter tour.
00:31:15.320 Oh, wow.
00:31:16.180 He's such a powerful voice.
00:31:18.540 A hundred percent.
00:31:19.600 Him, a few other people as well.
00:31:22.040 We're going to get them a helicopter tour, show them the oil sands, show them the reclamation, give them a tour.
00:31:25.900 And Indigenous people, too.
00:31:26.960 You're Indigenous yourself.
00:31:28.380 People don't realize that the number one employer of Aboriginal people in Canada is oil and gas and mining.
00:31:33.940 You know, in Fort McMurray, it's uplifted Indigenous people from object poverty, but it's even a bigger story.
00:31:40.320 Ninety percent of my clients through my marketing company, and I have seven full-time employees now,
00:31:44.140 are all Indigenous businesses that are either billionaires or multimillionaires.
00:31:47.560 So it's a great story.
00:31:48.800 And here's the thing, too.
00:31:50.220 Fort McMurray is a natural wonder.
00:31:51.740 If you travel a little north, the next time you're there, I'm going to take you to called Six Lakes.
00:31:55.980 It looks like the Sahara Desert.
00:31:57.860 It is beautiful.
00:31:58.620 For four months of the year, you think that you're in an—it's untouched sand dunes and beautiful, beautiful—it's a beautiful place.
00:32:06.760 And I think Fort McMurray is the best place to live.
00:32:09.020 If you want to go—if you want to—let's say you've made a bad choice in life and you need to make some cash.
00:32:13.420 Oh, yeah, my attention.
00:32:14.920 Come to Fort McMurray, get a job.
00:32:16.940 You can get affordable housing.
00:32:18.200 Is it back—is Fort McMurray back?
00:32:20.260 It's back.
00:32:20.740 Because of the fire, heartbreaking fire.
00:32:22.840 You know, it's back in a better way than it's ever been.
00:32:25.060 So I ran Sandy Bowman, our mayor's campaign.
00:32:27.280 He's the MMA fighter that beat up Butterbean, a great guy.
00:32:30.520 And one of the things that Fort McMurray is doing really good right now is it's making it more fair for everybody.
00:32:35.740 So you don't have to work in the oil sands if you don't want to.
00:32:37.920 I mean, I had a marketing company.
00:32:38.840 I was homeless when I went there.
00:32:40.100 And now, you know, I've got a business and a home.
00:32:42.400 There's a lot of opportunity.
00:32:43.600 But if you embrace Fort McMurray, we've got one of the best recreation facilities, Mack Island.
00:32:48.400 We were there years ago.
00:32:50.700 There's so much great things to do.
00:32:52.360 And you can get a job and own a home.
00:32:54.280 You can't do that in Vancouver.
00:32:55.460 You can't do that in Toronto.
00:32:56.300 That's not the truth.
00:32:56.920 It's so hard for young people.
00:32:58.620 Well, listen, Robbie, I'm so glad you're here.
00:33:00.980 I also am glad that you do reach out to the other side because supporting the oil sands should not be a partisan divide.
00:33:08.840 In fact, labor union people should love it more than anyone.
00:33:12.920 You know, sometimes it's hard when you have narcissists like Trudeau that speak out of both sides of their mouth.
00:33:20.200 And I kind of lean more conservative than I did when I first met you.
00:33:23.400 However, I have so I'm on my way to Montreal.
00:33:26.300 I'm interviewing a bunch of Montreal mayors that support oil and gas.
00:33:29.920 And I believe we really need to like if we in Alberta, we have to invite people from Ottawa to our hometown.
00:33:35.200 This country is so big that sometimes I don't even think we're a country because we're only 40 million population.
00:33:41.240 But we're the second largest country landmass and we need to connect more.
00:33:44.200 But I am doing my best.
00:33:45.660 I think it's a shame.
00:33:47.300 Like it's horrible what's happening to the to the to our industry right now because it's a it's just a bunch of crap.
00:33:53.120 Batteries and so-called green energy are not any greener.
00:33:56.080 In fact, the more research is coming out of how bad it is.
00:33:58.600 All those mining of those rare earth minerals.
00:34:01.420 That's those are terrible scenes.
00:34:03.420 We have solar panels in Fort Chip that have never been turned on and they don't really work in winter.
00:34:08.460 We need to stop pretending that somehow there is this better green energy and embrace all forms of energy and stop the war.
00:34:16.320 Because this war on Fort McMurray and Alberta is going to cost Canada.
00:34:21.320 And I think when they live in this sort of recession proof bubble, they don't understand that.
00:34:25.500 And they need to wake up quick.
00:34:27.220 All right.
00:34:27.620 How's that for plain talk from our friend Robbie Picard?
00:34:30.080 Look at that oil sands strong.
00:34:32.160 Are you oil sands strong?
00:34:33.560 I sure am.
00:34:34.420 Robbie, great to see you.
00:34:35.500 And congratulations for your successes.
00:34:38.500 And we'll have some more reports from the Canada Strong and Free Network ahead.
00:34:52.400 You know, I think by nature, older people are drawn to politics because they have more time in some ways.
00:34:59.440 These young people are so busy going to school, getting a job, dating, starting a family.
00:35:04.080 They don't have time for politics.
00:35:05.460 Plus, when you're a little bit older, in some ways you have more of a stake in things.
00:35:09.680 You have property.
00:35:10.860 You have a job.
00:35:11.600 You pay taxes.
00:35:12.720 And so the knock on politics and political parties is that their members are typically older, middle-aged or seniors.
00:35:20.580 But I think that's just a natural thing.
00:35:22.300 In fact, sometimes it's odd if young people get too involved.
00:35:26.240 But I was involved as a teenager, and I know why.
00:35:31.260 Because there are some people who, from a very early age, feel a sense of mission, of idealism.
00:35:36.920 And they see that that is a way to change the world.
00:35:40.100 So there is an important place for young people in politics.
00:35:43.160 I know that because I was one of them.
00:35:45.160 Well, I'm here with probably one of the youngest delegates at the conference here.
00:35:51.380 Josh Alexander, how old are you, lad?
00:35:53.560 16.
00:35:54.460 16.
00:35:55.240 So I'm almost four times your age.
00:35:58.780 I'm triple your age.
00:36:00.480 But you've been in the news.
00:36:01.680 In fact, we've covered your story a little bit.
00:36:03.520 For our viewers who might not recognize us, why don't you give us a one-minute summary of the shenanigans and the battle you're in?
00:36:10.300 Yeah, sure.
00:36:11.380 So I had been going to a high school in Renfrew.
00:36:15.960 That's in Ontario?
00:36:17.160 Yeah, Renfrew, Ontario.
00:36:19.560 And not long into my time, there were some female students informed me that males were using the female washrooms.
00:36:24.940 They were concerned about this.
00:36:26.640 And they had known I had a history in activism during the Freedom Convoy, where I organized the student walkouts against mandates.
00:36:36.400 So I decided to speak up in the Catholic board there.
00:36:40.220 And how did you do that?
00:36:42.100 Well, I went to my principals and spoke.
00:36:45.460 It came up in classroom debates.
00:36:47.120 And how did the principals receive you?
00:36:49.680 They didn't.
00:36:50.940 Eventually, after about two or three talks, they said they were no longer going to continue to discuss the matter with me.
00:36:55.880 So they obviously knew about this and supported it?
00:36:58.900 Oh, yeah.
00:36:59.700 They were well aware of it.
00:37:00.800 And they actually said that trans-identifying students are the gender they identify as, rather than their biological gender.
00:37:08.340 So, yeah, the faculties.
00:37:10.620 This is a Catholic school?
00:37:11.800 Yeah.
00:37:12.700 All right.
00:37:13.240 Keep going.
00:37:13.980 Yeah.
00:37:14.180 So, anyways, I was in a class debate.
00:37:16.820 This topic came up.
00:37:18.280 And I said there's only two genders.
00:37:21.140 And I...
00:37:22.380 And what was the class?
00:37:23.180 What subject?
00:37:24.340 There was a couple different classes.
00:37:26.580 The main ones were law and math class.
00:37:29.340 But, uh...
00:37:30.000 Well, math, sure.
00:37:31.040 They're number two.
00:37:31.920 Yeah.
00:37:32.360 So, I said, I said, there's only two genders.
00:37:35.760 And there was transgender students in this class.
00:37:39.620 And what grade is this?
00:37:40.440 Grade 11?
00:37:40.920 Grade 11, yeah.
00:37:41.720 Mind you, this is a math class.
00:37:43.940 So it shouldn't be on this topic in the first place.
00:37:45.760 But the teacher was allowing it to stray.
00:37:47.760 And students were asking me questions.
00:37:49.300 And I answered them.
00:37:50.220 Because it had been quite a controversial topic.
00:37:51.880 And then the teacher, in two different classes, went on to endorse and support male breastfeeding.
00:38:00.140 Yeah, so...
00:38:01.320 I got nothing.
00:38:02.300 Yeah.
00:38:02.780 So I ended up calling that pedophilia.
00:38:06.920 And I had to graphically describe, in front of the class, what exactly the male teacher was endorsing.
00:38:14.960 And, uh...
00:38:16.120 All right.
00:38:16.500 So I get the feeling that this Catholic school ain't like Catholic schools when I was growing up.
00:38:21.180 But, uh...
00:38:21.720 So how...
00:38:22.300 So what came about?
00:38:23.740 What...
00:38:24.220 How did the...
00:38:24.800 How did the story end?
00:38:25.900 It sounds like, uh...
00:38:27.620 It's one thing for you to spar with your classmates.
00:38:29.560 But sparring with teachers and...
00:38:31.160 And, uh...
00:38:32.100 Administration, that...
00:38:33.160 That typically doesn't go well for a student.
00:38:35.140 Yeah, no, it didn't.
00:38:36.620 Um...
00:38:36.980 I got...
00:38:37.720 Long story short, I got multiple suspensions, exclusions.
00:38:41.100 And at this point, I'm then kicked out for the year.
00:38:43.960 And what did your parents think about all this?
00:38:46.280 Whose side were they on?
00:38:47.320 Did they say, hush now, young one, just get through school?
00:38:49.720 Or did they stand with you?
00:38:50.900 Well, no, I...
00:38:51.640 My parents taught me, uh, how to think and not what to think, right?
00:38:54.880 So they were...
00:38:55.640 They were supportive when I exercised my critical thinking.
00:38:57.940 Well, what did they think about the fact that you're suspended from school?
00:39:00.360 Um...
00:39:00.840 They weren't happy with the administration, but even...
00:39:03.380 They were even more, uh, uh, discouraged when they saw me get arrested at my high school, but...
00:39:08.580 And, uh, were you charged with anything?
00:39:10.960 Uh, I was given a trespassing charge, but, uh, other than that, no.
00:39:14.820 And has that gone to court yet?
00:39:16.320 It will be going to court.
00:39:18.000 Um, we're also taking the court to, uh, the...
00:39:21.460 Or taking the school to the Human Rights Tribunal.
00:39:23.860 Do you have a lawyer for either of those matters, the trespass matter or the Human Rights matter?
00:39:27.020 Yeah, I've got James Kitchen from Liberty Coalition Canada.
00:39:30.120 And is that being crowdfunded, or how's that being...
00:39:32.380 Is the Democracy Fund helping with that, or is James taking care of that?
00:39:35.440 How's that going?
00:39:35.960 Yeah, so, it's, uh, there's a fundraiser at libertycoalitioncanada.com, and, uh, there's
00:39:42.060 a petition there you can sign for me as well.
00:39:43.620 I know, James, you does some good civil liberties work, so it sounds like, you know, that was
00:39:47.100 my first question, because a young lad fighting in class is one thing, but if you're fighting
00:39:51.300 in court, you do need a lawyer.
00:39:52.740 It sounds like that's covered.
00:39:54.220 Um, so you're taking the Human Rights Commission, and what are you pleading?
00:39:59.180 That your, your freedom of religion is being violated, or what freedom are you saying
00:40:04.740 is violated?
00:40:05.300 Well, yeah, I would argue that my religious freedom was violated.
00:40:08.720 Um, I, I express, I actually use scripture.
00:40:11.900 I quoted, um, some scripture and said that, uh, there's only two genders, and I backed it
00:40:15.600 with my beliefs in a Catholic school.
00:40:17.140 By the way, what's the Pope's view on this?
00:40:18.660 I'm taking it, I mean, this is a liberal Pope, but, but, uh, I'm gonna guess what you
00:40:23.880 were saying was probably not too far away from what the Pope says.
00:40:26.440 Well, uh, I, I myself am not Catholic, so I'm actually, I'm not kind of, uh, not in the
00:40:32.660 loop there, but I did get to talk to several priests and a couple of bishops, and it was
00:40:37.260 mixed support.
00:40:37.900 Some wouldn't even talk to me, and others were supportive.
00:40:39.840 Um, so what's the latest?
00:40:41.560 Well, um, so I, I got arrested at the school for, uh, refusing to abide by the unlawful
00:40:47.840 exclusion order.
00:40:49.340 Um, and then one day later, actually, it was almost right here, I got arrested again, uh,
00:40:55.820 just one street over there at the, uh, National Arts Centre for going to the Drake Queen Storytime,
00:41:01.260 and, uh, I used a megaphone to quote some scripture and exercise my religious freedom,
00:41:05.480 as well as my freedom of peaceful assembly.
00:41:07.620 So what did, now, were you on public property?
00:41:10.720 No, I was on, well, yeah, I was on a crosswalk.
00:41:12.640 I was on.
00:41:13.080 So, so what were you possibly arrested for?
00:41:15.360 Um, they said they were going to arrest me for disturbance, and then they eventually
00:41:20.040 arrested me and charged me with trespassing.
00:41:22.540 On a crosswalk?
00:41:23.440 On a crosswalk.
00:41:24.100 Well, what was the trespass part?
00:41:25.700 Where, what property did they say you were illegally on?
00:41:29.180 They said I was on the National Arts Centre.
00:41:30.760 I had been on the sidewalk, and then I was walking across the crosswalk when they arrested
00:41:35.560 me.
00:41:36.160 You know, I don't know the, the rules in this city, but I, I, I studied the trespass laws
00:41:40.440 in Toronto very carefully when some cops were trying to keep us off the plaza in front of
00:41:45.720 City Hall.
00:41:46.520 And, at least in Toronto, the laws for trespassing someone off of public property, off of parks
00:41:53.480 and things like that, is extremely strict, as in, you have to be physically harassing someone,
00:42:00.080 drunk, or something like that, before you can be kicked off public property.
00:42:04.940 You're on private property, the owner says get out, he doesn't need any reason, you're
00:42:08.840 off.
00:42:09.440 But, from a park, from a plaza, at least in Toronto, it's very hard to, to have cops evict
00:42:16.880 you.
00:42:17.080 Is James Kitchen helping you on this case also?
00:42:20.400 Well, so, it was actually about two weeks afterwards, the police contacted, uh, I think they actually
00:42:26.720 contacted my dad, and they said, they apologized and said it was a mistake.
00:42:30.400 They apologized?
00:42:31.440 They said, they said they didn't mean to arrest me for, uh, for trespassing.
00:42:36.080 It was an accident.
00:42:37.100 These things can, you know, can happen to anyone.
00:42:38.800 They accidentally arrest when they didn't mean to.
00:42:41.080 It was just a coincidence that Global News and CTV were all standing there filming it.
00:42:45.560 You know, the apology, was this just in, verbally, or did they put that in writing?
00:42:49.580 No, they didn't put it in writing, they never do.
00:42:51.340 Getting an apology from the police, that's rare, I should tell you.
00:42:54.100 Yeah.
00:42:54.600 Well, they, they, uh, they know I'm already considering suing them, and, uh, they, they
00:42:59.520 wrongfully arrested me, wrongfully charged me, uh, they made a public scene about it, and
00:43:04.380 then apologized, uh, quietly over the phone.
00:43:07.020 Not even to me, personally.
00:43:08.200 They apologized to my dad.
00:43:09.220 Well, it's probably better that they talked to your dad.
00:43:10.940 I mean, it would be weird for police to call a minor directly and have a chat with him.
00:43:14.960 There's a lot of weirdness here.
00:43:16.220 All right.
00:43:16.640 So, uh, what are you doing for school next year?
00:43:19.280 That's a good question.
00:43:20.620 Um, at this point, I'm kicked out.
00:43:22.700 Uh, they, uh, there's certain conditions they want me to agree to that I refuse to agree
00:43:26.720 to, and, uh, at this point, I don't have any form of education.
00:43:31.400 You know, uh, there's an old saying, you know, someone asks you a question that the answer
00:43:37.660 is so obviously, yes, you say, is the Pope Catholic?
00:43:43.040 I don't know if you've ever heard that turn of phrase, like, uh, Ezra, are you hungry?
00:43:48.400 Is the Pope Catholic?
00:43:49.440 Like, it's a, it's a generic way of saying, of course, it's in my nature.
00:43:53.280 But for a young man to be kicked out of and trespassed, given a trespass notice out of
00:44:00.140 a Catholic school, is the Pope Catholic, uh, is a real question.
00:44:06.020 Yeah.
00:44:06.400 Uh, or at least with, uh, what's it called?
00:44:08.880 St. Joe's?
00:44:09.500 What's the name of your school?
00:44:10.380 St. Joseph's Catholic High in Renvert.
00:44:12.320 Very strange days were in.
00:44:14.840 You know, there was one moment in the morning session here where someone noted that a whole
00:44:21.580 bunch of conservative candidates, conservative candidates, were asked, can you define the
00:44:27.000 word woman?
00:44:27.980 And every one of them refused to.
00:44:30.840 And that's in the conservative party.
00:44:33.260 And I think that this issue went from absurd thought experiment to fascist authoritarianism
00:44:40.160 faster than anything I've ever seen.
00:44:42.200 And it'll be interesting to watch your case.
00:44:44.320 And I wish you good luck.
00:44:45.480 And I think you're in good hands with the lawyer you have.
00:44:48.000 And, uh, we'll see where you wind up.
00:44:50.100 Hopefully you get that high school diploma.
00:44:51.760 All right.
00:44:52.180 Thank you.
00:44:52.800 All right.
00:44:52.960 There he is.
00:44:53.320 Josh Alexander.
00:44:54.100 One of the interesting people you meet at the conservative, uh, strong and free network
00:44:59.920 conference.
00:45:00.540 Well, there you have it.
00:45:14.040 I could say there's probably 10 more interviews I could do, but we don't want the show to be
00:45:19.800 an hour or two or three long.
00:45:22.480 Uh, I've enjoyed this.
00:45:23.840 I enjoyed saying hello to Jamil Giovanni, the new leader.
00:45:26.780 Uh, it's great to see the growth of the independent journalism.
00:45:31.060 Our first person we talked to today was Andrew Lawton.
00:45:33.660 It's nice to see a number of true North reporters here.
00:45:37.120 I saw a reporter from Western standard online here.
00:45:40.240 I saw the Epoch times here.
00:45:42.120 That's also a change is that you have conservative or freedom oriented independent journalists.
00:45:47.860 I did see one journalist, uh, from the mainstream media.
00:45:51.780 And frankly, she was here with an open mind.
00:45:53.900 I, I know because I've talked to her before about these things, uh, there will be more
00:45:59.020 events ahead that will come after my filing deadline.
00:46:02.240 I understand that Stephen Harper is scheduled to speak.
00:46:04.780 It'll be interesting to hear what he has to say.
00:46:07.560 And, um, that's it.
00:46:09.780 But I would say that rebel news was so uniformly welcomed.
00:46:14.120 I mean, I walked in and our reporter, Alexa Lavoie and our cameraman, Guillaume Roy from
00:46:19.580 Montreal was here as well.
00:46:20.880 And the love that was shown, not just to Guillaume and Alexa, but to me too, uh, welcoming rebel
00:46:28.020 news and telling us how we fought the fight for them.
00:46:31.920 When frankly, the conservative movement in Canada was not quite as conservative as it should
00:46:35.660 have been was deeply satisfying.
00:46:38.140 And it was a good encouragement for us to continue our work at rebel news.
00:46:43.780 And so indeed we will.
00:46:45.340 That's my report for today.
00:46:47.080 I'll be back in our world headquarters tomorrow until then.
00:46:50.880 On behalf of all of us at rebel news to you at home, goodbye and keep fighting for freedom.