EZRA LEVANT ｜ Pro-Hamas agitators sully our great Dominion with their virulent antisemitism
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
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Summary
A state-sanctioned multiculturalism has been a complete disaster, argues the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Franco Teresano. David Menzies also talks about the origin of the phrase Jump the Shark, and why the Fonzarelli character in the hit TV show, "Happy Days," was actually named after a man-eating shark.
Transcript
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Hey folks, it's David Menzies here. I am the guest host for the Ezra Levant on this Friday,
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November 15th, 2024. Hope you get a chance to tune in. My monologue is about multiculturalism,
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namely that what has happened in the streets of our great dominion these past 13 months?
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Well, I think it's proof positive that multiculturalism, the state-sanctioned
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version of multiculturalism, I should say. It's been an utter disaster. And you won't want to
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miss my guest with the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. That would be Franco
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Teresano. What if I told you folks that $76,000 of your hard-earned tax dollars went to artwork being
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bought by federal bureaucrats? Oh, it's worse. It wasn't bought by bureaucrats. It was rented by
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bureaucrats. Oh, it's even worse. It's $76,000 a month of rented artwork, some $7.8 million.
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That's the off-the-lot price for artwork in offices, which go back to the pandemic. So that means there
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weren't even people, most likely, in those offices. It is outrageous. Franco's interview, I think, will
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make your blood boil. And it shows that we need regime change in Ottawa sooner rather than later.
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Tonight, given the hatred we've seen in the streets of our great dominion, the verdict is in.
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State-sanctioned multiculturalism has been a complete disaster.
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It's Friday, November 15th, 2024. I'm David Menzies, and this is the Ezra Levin Show.
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Folks, one of my all-time favorite pop culture idioms is jump the shark.
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The credit for this chestnut goes to John Hine, a Howard Stern show staffer and fast food enthusiast.
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He coined it decades ago, and it is a phrase that resonates so much so that the now-defunct TV guide
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actually paid Hine a whopping U.S. $1 million to take ownership of those three words.
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Oh, by the way, if any corporate entity wants to buy the menzoid,
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why don't we start the bidding with, I don't know, a steak dinner?
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Anyway, the definition of jump the shark is the following, quote,
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It is a term that is used to argue that a creative work or entity has reached a point in which
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it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with
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or an extreme exaggeration of its original purpose, end quote.
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In other words, in the case of, say, a TV show, the jump the shark moment is that point in the series
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in which subsequent episodes are no longer as good as the previous episodes.
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And once the jump the shark moment occurs, it's typically a precursor to the show's extinction event.
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As for the origin of jump the shark, it's actually a literal term.
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I speak of that infamous 1977 episode of Happy Days in which Arthur Fonzarelli,
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a.k.a. The Fonz, donned a pair of water skis in order to, well,
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jump over a man-eating shark for reasons that I can no longer recall.
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That scene is cheesier than a bucket full of Bulgarian feta.
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and let's not kid the kidders here the only reason Fonzie was donning swimming trunks
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and for some inexplicable reason still donning his black leather biker jacket
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was due to the producers riding the wave of shark mania you see Jaws a film that was responsible
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for so many people cancelling their beach vacations and instead investing in backyard
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swimming pools was released in 1975 its much anticipated sequel was due for release just
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months after that particular happy days episode aired but that's the thing happy days and man-eating
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sharks go together about as well as cats and dogs from the get-go this episode entitled Hollywood
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part three was forgive the pun fishy which is to say it was an obvious cash grab from the get-go the
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whole cast of happy days had to be transplanted to southern california no doubt due to the reason
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that the midwestern setting for happy days milwaukee wisconsin is pretty much a dead zone for sharks and
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other oceanic life besides the utter cheesiness of the action scenes remember kids this was long
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before the invention of cgi well the audience knew this was really just blatant exploitation
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i'm sure if the blockbuster movie of the day involved say space travel the producers of happy days would
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have come up with a preposterous plot device that would have the cast land on the moon for whatever
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reason the point is this preposterous jump the shark episode left a sour aftertaste and happy days was
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never quite the same ever again in any event there is a mountain of content online in which tv fans make
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the case for when the precise moment their favorite tv shows went into an irreversible nosedive thanks to
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jumping the shark for example numerous fans of the simpsons believe that show experienced its jump
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the shark moment in season nine when it was revealed that principal skinner was actually called armin
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tamzerian and had assumed the identity of seymour skinner after the vietnam war like what the hell
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for the brady bunch there is near unanimous consent that this shows jump the shark moment was when the much
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loathed cousin oliver moved into the brady household but in my book i think the ultimate jump the shark tv
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moment goes to dallas specifically the first episode of season 10 in which it was revealed that bobby ewing
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did not die the previous season his death alas was just a bad dream endured by his fiancee
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and so it is that season 10 has her waking up one morning to discover that bobby is very much alive
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and well and having a jolly hot shower the only hitch alas is that since bobby's death was a dream
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meaning his demise never did happen that meant the entire events which occurred in season nine were
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officially annulled just like that like are you kidding me it was outrageous everyone knew that
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patrick duffy who played bobby ewing had quit dallas to pursue other projects such as the man from atlantis
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essentially a low-rent aquaman the man from atlantis flopped so it was an economic no-brainer that
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duffy would go back to the hit series dallas but seriously wiping out an entire season of content
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in order to accommodate an actor who had made a really bad career choice that's a jump a great
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white shark moment but enough with the pop culture stroll down memory lane let's veer into politics
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shall we because a jump the shark benchmark has been achieved when it comes to canadian culture
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you see for the past 13 months now in the streets of our great dominion we have seen ugliness that is
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off the charts since october 7th 2023 that is of course when hamas terrorists butchered almost 1200
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people while kidnapping more than 250 it was the biggest single day massacre of jews since the end of
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the holocaust some 80 years ago it was disgusting it was enraging hey we always knew anti-semitism was
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a thing but this this was a shock to the system this whole idea of pro hamas supporters taking to the
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streets weekend after weekend and chanting hatred enraged thugs physically assaulting jews for being
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jewish jewish shooting up jewish jewish jewish jewish jewish jewish jewish jewish jewish jewish jewish jewish jewish
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displaying swastikas and chanting genocide we're talking toronto here not tehran it was utterly
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baffling israel was the target of a brutal terrorist attack and yet before the corpses were even cold
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terrorist supporters were not only celebrating but clamoring for more violence. I think that
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what we have witnessed this past year has given us cause to question the policy of multiculturalism
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for I think what we have seen on the streets of our nation and what we continue to see
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is the ultimate jump the shark moment for multiculturalism. You know it was on October 8
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1971 that Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announced in the House of Commons that multiculturalism was
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now official government policy. According to the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
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quote the government committed to support multiculturalism in four specific ways
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assistance to cultural groups in their development and growth assistance to members of cultural
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groups to overcome barriers to full participation in society promotion of creative exchanges between
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cultural groups and assistance to immigrants in learning French or English end quote. Essentially
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unlike the so-called melting pot south of the border philosophy the government was fine with newcomers
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hanging on to their culture as opposed to fully embracing Canadian culture and Canadian values and
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assimilation. But while nothing was put down in writing there was an unspoken agreement when it came to
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Canada's official multiculturalism policy and it was this you can immigrate to Canada you can pursue the
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Canadian dream you can make use of all our social programs ranging from health care to welfare
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but in return this is what we ask you behave yourself you don't break the law you embrace peace and order
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and perhaps most importantly you do not import age-old hatred and feuds into Canada because well that's just not
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the Canadian way. And you know what for a newly arriving immigrant to Canada this would seem to be a great deal wouldn't
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you say? Alas as we have witnessed these past 13 months the verdict regarding this lofty social policy
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experiment is in multiculturalism is an abject failure. Clearly too many people who have immigrated to Canada
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have not upheld their part of that aforementioned unwritten bargain which is to say when you have
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people openly supporting a terrorist group and breaking the law from vandalism to violence and
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chanting genocide in the streets well the proof is in the proverbial pudding that multiculturalism much like
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the 1974 Pinto might have looked good on paper but in practice it's been a disaster. And you know it's not just the
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Hamasol community in sneaky Patrick Brown's Democratic People's Republic of Brampton. Multicultural tensions are simmering
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now specifically due to violence in the streets involving Hindus and Kalistani Sikhs. It should be noted that those Sikhs who
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support an independent state in India called Kalistan are indeed responsible for Canada's
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bloodiest act of terrorism. In June 1985 Air India Flight 182 was blown out of the sky over the Atlantic Ocean.
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The plane had started its journey in Montreal but somehow a bomb was placed inside that aircraft.
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Every single man, woman and child on board, 329 innocent people were vaporized.
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What is perversely ironic is that the Kalistan movement in India is deader than disco.
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But it lives on abroad, specifically in Canada, the US and the UK, because the immigration policies of these nations
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failed to vet the good Sikhs, who I would argue are the majority from the very bad Sikhs, who will resort to mass
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murder if need be in their pursuit of a pipe dream that shall never come to fruition. By the way, can you
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possibly guess who the most famous pro-Kalistan Sikh is in Canada? Well, that would be none other than
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Jagmeet Sellout Singh. Yep. Check out this article published by India Today last month entitled,
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quote, Jagmeet Singh, Canada's pro-Kalistani leader with troubled childhood, end quote.
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Here's an excerpt of the article about our co-prime minister, quote, he was accused by the then
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Indian government of this insidious agenda of disturbing the social fabric of India and undermining
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the peace, harmony and territorial integrity of India. The NDP leader attended a pro-sovereignty seminar
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in 2016 with the co-founder of the British-based National Sikh Youth Federation, who made clear demands
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for a separate land for Sikhs. This was the second time Singh was part of such an event. In 2015, he attended
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a Kalistani rally where participants chanted, Kalistan, Kalistan, reported Canadian broadcaster CBC, end quote.
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Is that not a most appalling example of the failure of multiculturalism? I mean, folks, it's not just regular
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Joe's out in the street supporting terrorism and chanting genocide and whatnot, but we even have those who would
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aspire to be the nation's prime minister, which for Sellout Singh, admittedly, is even more of a political pipe dream
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than militant Sikhs, achieving an independent state of Kalistan within India. Unbelievable.
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Oh, sure, we'd love to get Singh's side of the story, but this so-called parliamentarian prefers to
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sprint rather than speak. Check out our brief encounter with Sellout at an NDP event in Toronto last month.
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Say, Mr. Singh, you said several weeks ago you tore up the support agreement with the Liberals,
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but you continue to prop them up in the House. Mr. Singh, for the good of the country,
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are you going to walk away from your multi-million dollar pension?
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No media is allowed. No media is allowed. Is there any policy of his that you support?
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I'm not so much familiar with all the policies. Oh, you're not familiar?
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Yes. Wow. See how he runs. And is it any wonder that Singh is allegedly a Hamas supporter? I mean,
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what's with that human shield he's carrying about these days? Despicable.
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But that's another odious side effect when it comes to multiculturalism. It is not nurturing
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patriotism, but rather entitlement. Case in point, in Brampton, well, of course Brampton,
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Indian international students and those on temporary work visas remain camped out near the intersection of
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Queen Street and Highway 410. They are demanding to remain in Canada, even though it's still
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time for them to go. They've been there for months now. But have the authorities moved in to dismantle
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this illegal encampment? Have they criminally charged anyone? Have they thrown anyone into
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solitary confinement? Have any of the unhappy campers had their bank accounts frozen? Well,
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no, no, no, no, and no. I guess there is a special allowance for certain folk under our perverted
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policy of multiculturalism. But what is really astounding is the elevator pitch of these freeloaders,
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which is to say they don't want to remain in Canada and become Canadian citizens because
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they love Canada. Rather, it kind of looks like they hate Canada. Check out this excerpt of when
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we visited the encampment just a few months ago. Question, if no one is illegal on stolen land,
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as you call Canada, if Canada is full of hatred and racism, why would you want to move here? Why
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would you want to be a citizen of this awful place? Nobody has claimed that, like, we hate Canada.
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It's on your signs. No, I just came recently. Nobody has claimed that. Pardon me? Sorry?
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Nobody has claimed that, like, we hate Canada. Canadians are the wonderful people. I have
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Canadian friends as well. I love them a lot. The signs say, stop racism and hatred. It's calling
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Canada stolen land. So if there is racism and hatred in Canada, if this is indeed stolen land,
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why would you ever want to come to such a place? No, it's not about, like, stolen land you are
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talking about. We are not even saying that. But sir, with respect, that's what the sign says.
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The main problem is, like, there might be miscommunication. The main problem is we immigrants
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are facing hatred with the people, right? We are not hating anyone. We are just telling, like,
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what is happening right now. Oh, I'm not saying that you're haters. The sign...
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Isn't that special? Canada is on stolen land. Canadians are racist and hateful. Gee, who in
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their right mind would want to live in such a dump? But seriously, this is belligerence and
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entitlement on steroids. Do you want these campers becoming Canadians? Or do you want to give them,
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I don't know, a free ride to Pearson International and bid them bon voyage? But back to the Hamasos,
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their biggest act of atrocity is yet to come. I speak of their Remembrance Day at Celebration Square
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in Mississauga, slated for Tuesday, November 26th at 6 p.m. There's only one little problem with this
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belated Remembrance Day. Take it away, Romulan Senator Vernick.
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Oh, yeah, it's a fake, all right. This so-called Remembrance Day, which is being promoted with
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the imagery of poppies and the slogan, Lest We Forget, is not honoring patriots, but rather
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terrorists. I kid you not, folks, they are honoring the Hamas martyrs, including the evil and thankfully
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deceased mastermind of October 7th, Yahya Senwar. And as far as Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish is
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concerned, well, this is a free speech issue, you see, even though the reprobates at this so-called
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vigil will be resorting to their due rigour chance for genocide of the Jewish people, contrary to
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Section 319 of the Criminal Code of Canada. What do you say about that, Mayor Parrish? Then again,
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although I am not a psychiatrist, I really believe that Miss Parrish is mentally ill. Remember the
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incident that was the beginning of the end for her career as a Liberal MP? Carolyn?
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That was a George Bush doll Parrish was stepping on, whom Parrish also referred to as a bastard. Look, I get
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it. Parrish is not a conservative, nor is she a supporter of the Republican Party. But at the same time, she
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was a member of Parliament. She wasn't a comedian. The U.S. is our closest ally. The U.S. is our biggest trading
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partner. You think it might be a bad idea to act out in such an outrageous fashion? Well, even Parrish's
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own governing liberals of the day thought so, and eventually kicked this lunatic right out of the
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party. Now, there's been a predictable amount of outrage about the fake Remembrance Day. And how has
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Mayor Parrish responded? Well, she's doubling down, comparing Sinwar to Nelson Mandela.
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I know that many times they have to be bland and stick to the law. But in this case, we have a person
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who's recognized as a terrorist very widely. Thank you.
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Well, thank you for your advice. You're free to do whatever you want. You're free to say whatever
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you want. I am not. My job is to consult with our lawyers and do exactly what they tell me.
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So, I just want to point out, and I'm not being facetious, Nelson Mandela was declared a terrorist
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by the United States of America until the year 2008. You're a terrorist and somebody else's terrorist
00:24:20.580
may be two different things. But I am extremely careful. And I do not step out of line. But
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you're free to do whatever you like. By the way, why do the Hamasals think the death of Sinwar
00:24:35.060
is a sad thing? As a martyr, isn't this gentleman now in the afterlife enjoying the sexual favors of 72
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voluptuous black-eyed virgins? By the way, think about that for just a second, folks. Not 71 or 73,
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72. Not skinny, but voluptuous. Not blue-eyed, but black-eyed. Not sluts, but virgins. It's all laid
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out like a little contract, isn't it? Can you believe the mentality of these people? The Justin
00:25:05.700
Trudeau liberals even reward Islamists who are still amongst the living, alas. Case in point,
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Canada's homegrown al-Qaeda terrorist, Omar Khadr. Well, he was given $10.5 million in 2016
00:25:20.180
for allegedly suffering from hurt feelings. Khadr is a terrorist. Khadr is a self-confessed
00:25:26.980
murderer. Oh, but never mind. This is the kind of diversity Justin Trudeau loves. And therefore,
00:25:33.300
little Omar wins a Lotto Max jackpot without even having to buy a lottery ticket. Speaking of blackface,
00:25:42.180
he's also doubling down on this file by importing the worst of the worst when it comes to Middle East
00:25:50.900
hate mongers, which is to say he is hell-bent on issuing some 5,000 visas to Gazans. We know that about
00:26:00.260
80% of Gazans still support Hamas. We know other Middle East Arab countries want absolutely nothing
00:26:08.180
to do with these people. And does anyone think these people are going to behave in Canada and embrace
00:26:17.220
Western values? Anyone? But no, Justin Trudeau thinks the solution to out-of-control anti-Semitism on the
00:26:26.420
streets is throwing gasoline on the fire. And in the Department of, there's plenty of blame to go
00:26:33.860
around. Where, oh, where is law enforcement when it comes to dealing with the pro-Hamas hooligans?
00:26:42.020
Well, the police are literally enforcing Sharia law as opposed to Canadian law.
00:26:48.180
You know, I know it's hard to believe, but case in point, for more than a year now,
00:26:52.020
at the intersection of Bathurst Street and Shepherd Avenue West in Toronto, this has served as a
00:26:59.140
gathering point for pro-Israel demonstrators. Typically, the message being conveyed is the desire
00:27:05.780
for the safe return of those remaining, and hopefully still living, hostages who were kidnapped in Israel
00:27:14.020
by Hamas terrorists last October 7th. But even though there are literally thousands of
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intersections in the city of Toronto, the pro-Hamas types have decided they must assemble at this
00:27:29.300
particular place. Why? Well, the answer is obvious. Clearly, they hate Jews and their allies, and Team
00:27:37.220
Terror wants to cause trouble. And they are being aided and bedded by the Toronto Police Service.
00:27:45.700
Check out what happened last Sunday when I tried to cover this protest. First, I was assaulted by the
00:27:53.060
pro-Hamas supporters. Then the ringleaders demanded the cops arrest me for practicing journalism.
00:28:08.500
Stop trying to alter how it might mean a lot of policeJust Ludwig BL 지금은.
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My grandfather spent five years of his life fighting the Nazis.
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You think I'm going to bend the knee to the Islamo-Nazis?
00:29:54.980
Who should show up at 32 Division just as I was being released from my cell?
00:30:00.980
Well, none other than the junior jihadi, Anas Sial, who was ordering the cops around at Bathurst and Shepherd just three hours prior.
00:30:24.980
For committing another unnecessary obstruction of police and attacking our people again?
00:30:33.980
No, I was trying to talk to the Jewish demonstrators on your side, sir.
00:30:40.980
You don't want to talk to someone who's racist like you.
00:30:42.980
You don't want to talk to someone who's racist like you.
00:30:45.980
Are you turning yourself in for trans and genocide?
00:30:56.980
Oh, and by the way, my advice to would-be parents out there.
00:31:01.980
If you think your upcoming little bundle of joy might turn out to be an all-star asshole,
00:31:08.980
maybe you shouldn't saddle the kid with a name that actually sounds like anus.
00:31:15.980
Now, while I was in the slammer, I missed the rest of the protest, so I regret to report
00:31:21.980
that I do not know if the Toronto police reimagined themselves as Uber Eats drivers
00:31:26.980
by delivering coffee and Timbits to these deplorables.
00:31:31.980
Indeed, with the police refusing to enforce the law while criminally charging peaceful counter-demonstrators
00:31:39.980
and members of the independent media, we have gone from jump the shark to the tail wagging the dog.
00:31:48.980
Not that these odious people have any love for men's best friend, mind you.
00:31:53.980
Now that I've demonstrated the problem, the question arises, what is the solution?
00:32:01.980
Well, it is all about having someone in office that has the political wherewithal to do the right thing.
00:32:10.980
Case in point, check out what President-elect Donald Trump said about this situation south of the border yesterday.
00:32:18.980
And here is what I will do to defeat anti-Semitism and defend our Jewish citizens in America.
00:32:24.980
My first week back in the Oval Office, my administration will inform every college president
00:32:29.980
that if you do not end anti-Semitic propaganda, they will lose their accreditation and federal tax credit.
00:32:44.980
The truth is, you don't have to do much after that.
00:32:57.980
We will not subsidize the creation of terrorist sympathizers.
00:33:01.980
And we're not going to do it, certainly on American soil.
00:33:05.980
Next, I will inform every educational institution in our land that if they permit violence, harassment,
00:33:12.980
or threats against Jewish students, the schools will be held accountable for violations of the civil rights law.
00:33:22.980
Jewish Americans must have equal protection under the law.
00:33:27.980
At the same time, my administration will move swiftly to restore safety for Jewish students and Jewish people on American streets.
00:33:36.980
You know, I pray Pierre Poliev is paying attention to Trump's pronouncements because the vast majority of people on either side of the border are on side when it comes to deporting the deplorables.
00:33:51.980
Furthermore, should the Conservatives form a majority government, which polls indicate is inevitable, perhaps Mr. Poliev can take our multiculturalism policy and put it in the paper shredder where it rightfully belongs.
00:34:10.980
When I cover these hate fest, folks, I swear, I no longer recognize the city of my birth.
00:34:19.980
We need to put adults back in charge of this country.
00:34:24.980
In terms of multiculturalism, it was Justin's alleged father that got the ball rolling more than half a century ago.
00:34:32.980
And now Junior seems hellbent on making Canada completely unrecognizable.
00:34:39.980
What we need is that Captain Picard moment from the movie First Contact.
00:34:55.980
They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back.
00:35:04.980
Picard was speaking of the Borg, of course, and Star Trek is the stuff of sci-fi fantasy, but we need a leader who...
00:35:17.980
Picard was speaking of the Borg, of course, and Star Trek is the stuff of sci-fi fantasy, but we need a leader who will also no longer fall back.
00:35:28.980
A leader who will also draw the line right here.
00:35:35.980
Do the supporters of terrorism further push the envelope?
00:35:38.980
Which is to say, how far away are we from the disgrace that occurred in Amsterdam earlier this month?
00:35:45.980
You know, when the wannabe jihadis tried to kill soccer fans because they were Jews?
00:35:51.980
Maybe we are already at that point thanks to the failed policy of official state-sanctioned multiculturalism.
00:36:00.980
And even if you do not give a rodent's rectum about the state of Israel or the plight of the Jewish people, here's the cold, hard, politically incorrect truth.
00:36:12.980
If the New Age Hitler Youth Movement gets its way, if Israel is nuked into the Stone Age, and every single Jew in the world is massacred, do you really think that's mission accomplished for the Islamists?
00:36:37.980
What I'm saying is this folks, first it's the Jew, then it's you.
00:36:44.980
Hey folks, what if I told you that federal bureaucrats spent $76,000 of your hard-earned tax dollars for artwork?
00:37:19.980
I know you're saying this is a premature April Fool's Day joke.
00:37:25.980
Again, your tax dollars hard at work in an environment that is just oozing in entitlement.
00:37:34.980
And with more details on this absolutely shocking story, I'd like to welcome the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, that would be Franco Teresano.
00:37:45.980
Thank you so much for joining me on the Ezra Levent Show, Franco.
00:37:51.980
You know, Franco, I wonder if sometimes you suffer from a type of battle fatigue.
00:38:00.980
You keep, you know, when somebody says out there, what are these cats gonna do for an encore?
00:38:12.980
Why did federal bureaucrats find it necessary to rent artwork for $76,000 a month as opposed to, I don't know, going down to the local value village and buying a picture for $20?
00:38:28.980
That's really the theme of this episode, right?
00:38:32.980
Well, it does get worse because not only are bureaucrats in federal departments and agencies spending $76,000 a month renting art.
00:38:42.980
It gets worse because the government is essentially double billing taxpayers.
00:38:50.980
So number one, the government uses your tax dollars to buy the art for its art bank, right?
00:38:57.980
And that's in a federal crown corporation known as the Canadian Council for the Arts.
00:39:03.980
And then bureaucrats rent that art with your tax dollars.
00:39:08.980
So it does get worse because the government is in effect double billing taxpayers.
00:39:13.980
So to lay the groundwork of this story, the feds between January 2016 and July of 2024, they spent about $7.8 million renting art from the art bank.
00:39:28.980
Okay, that's $76,000 a month renting art, billing taxpayers for it.
00:39:35.980
And now to put that into perspective, $76,000 a month renting art, that is more than what the average Canadian worker makes in an entire year.
00:39:46.980
You know, I can't believe I have to say this out loud, but maybe these bureaucrats should chill it on the art bank when record numbers of Canadians are lining up at food banks.
00:40:02.980
Why did they feel it was necessary to rent artwork in the first place?
00:40:08.980
I mean, I guess you could make the case, I think, if you are running an art gallery.
00:40:13.980
Yeah, you want to invest in art, that's your bailiwick.
00:40:16.980
But these are bureaucrats carrying out the business of government, not the promotion of artwork.
00:40:22.980
What was the ostensible policy reason for renting this stuff in the first place?
00:40:29.980
It's a lot easier to blow money when you're blowing other people's money, right?
00:40:41.980
But you know what the crazy part of this too, right?
00:40:44.980
Is that the highest single rental expense was about $120,000.
00:40:50.980
Now, to be fair, we don't know how many rentals were in that specific rental purchase.
00:41:15.980
They were renting artwork for $76 a month for offices where nobody was in attendance.
00:41:25.980
Like, were there even bureaucrats looking at this art?
00:41:30.980
And I mentioned that there's the double billing.
00:41:32.980
The fact that the government is buying the art in the first place for this art bank, right?
00:41:38.980
That's within the federal crown corporation known as the Canadian Council for the Arts.
00:41:42.980
In fact, in the last fiscal year where there's records for the feds gave that crown corporation,
00:41:47.980
the Canadian Council for the Arts over $400 million.
00:41:50.980
By the way, that government funding is about 90% of that crown corporation's total revenue.
00:41:58.980
So not only are you paying for the art in the first place, but then the government bills you an extra $76,000 a month.
00:42:05.980
So federal department bureaucrats can hang up these pretty pictures in their offices.
00:42:11.980
You know, Franco, I can almost feel our audience seething.
00:42:15.980
And here's the thing, if this happened in the private sector, if the CEO found out that some minion had rented artwork for $76,000 a month,
00:42:29.980
But that's the issue with government and bureaucrats, isn't it, Franco?
00:42:37.980
No one gets fired for even the most egregious spending.
00:42:41.980
And how can we reverse this, or is it irreversible?
00:42:50.980
Okay, number one, to your point, there is no accountability.
00:42:53.980
I wouldn't be surprised if they're all just getting bonuses, right?
00:42:56.980
The feds have dished out $1.5 billion in bonuses since 2015.
00:43:01.980
About 90% of federal government executives get a bonus every year.
00:43:05.980
Even with the worst federal waste, there's still bonuses.
00:43:11.980
Remember that simple app that launched for 80 grand, ended up costing taxpayers 60 million bucks?
00:43:17.980
Well, the federal executives working on Arrive Can got $340,000 in bonuses.
00:43:25.980
So, number one, there is no accountability going on in the government at this time for wasting taxpayers' money.
00:43:30.980
Number two, you know, maybe taxpayers could give the government a break if this was the only time they're wasting their money.
00:43:40.980
Global Affairs Canada, one department billing taxpayers like 50 grand a month on alcohol purchases, including a $1,000 booze-filled trivia night.
00:43:54.980
How about Parks Canada spending $10,000 in four years to capture one single American bullfrog on a BC island?
00:44:08.980
Spending $10,000, four years to capture one frog.
00:44:12.980
In one year, the Trudeau government had three affordability retreats costing taxpayers more than a million dollars.
00:44:21.980
Or how about Stats Canada producing a podcast that costs almost a million dollars on topics ranging from, like, gender ideology to arts and crafts to misinformation.
00:44:36.980
So, or one last one, folks, because this one just boils my blood.
00:44:39.980
Oh, and Franco, on the podcast, don't forget, nobody was listening.
00:44:47.980
The federal government spending eight million bucks building a barn at Rideau Hall.
00:44:53.980
Now, you could probably tell by how I'm dressed.
00:44:58.980
But I do know that my buddies in Brooks know how to build a barn for less than eight million bucks.
00:45:03.980
So, the problem is, it's not just this crazy, crazy waste of money where the government is spending like $76,000 a month renting art.
00:45:12.980
But also that this is happening all over the place, department after department, year after year.
00:45:19.980
You know, Franco, I will respectfully disagree with your last example, the $8 million barn.
00:45:25.980
I would surmise that barn is probably the size of an aircraft hangar.
00:45:29.980
And in Ottawa, with all the BS that you have to deal with, maybe that's why they need such a structure.
00:45:36.980
Franco, kindly remind our audience, what is our debt and our deficit right now?
00:45:48.980
It's now $1.2 trillion, doubled the debt, less than a decade.
00:45:53.980
And I believe the other question you asked were the deficit.
00:45:59.980
The federal government just hiked capital gains taxes.
00:46:06.980
And oh, by the way, interest charges on that debt are now blowing a $1 billion hole in the budget every single week.
00:46:19.980
Every penny you pay in the federal sales tax is now going to pay interest on the government credit card.
00:46:27.980
And Franco, on the interest alone, how many hospitals a year could we build with that amount of money?
00:46:35.980
So the interest charges this year are costing taxpayers $54 billion.
00:46:39.980
Now a hospital, I don't know, around a billion dollars, the construction costs of a new hospital.
00:46:45.980
So that's like we're losing out on a hospital, a brand new hospital, essentially, being built every single week.
00:46:53.980
Because instead of that money going to actual priorities, it's going to the bond fund managers on Bay Street to pay interest charges on the debt.
00:47:02.980
Well, you know, it's funny because I was in Washington for the election.
00:47:08.980
It was a running count of the U.S. debt, which is now 35 trillion U.S. dollars.
00:47:15.980
In other words, the interest to service that debt is bigger than the U.S. military budget.
00:47:21.980
Spending is out of control in so many jurisdictions.
00:47:24.980
But let's just get back one more second to this business of paying $76,000 a month on artwork, Franco.
00:47:32.980
So the thing that jumped into my head right away was several years ago, it was one of the CEOs for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation who was forced to resign.
00:47:45.980
They go through CEOs like somebody with a cold goes through Kleenex there.
00:47:52.980
But two of the things that really stuck in the craw of people looking at his lavish spending of a crown corporation was, one, he sealed off the cafeteria so he wouldn't have to dine with the lowly people working at the OLG.
00:48:14.980
And people thought that was a scandalous waste of money.
00:48:18.980
I guess the point I'm getting to, Franco, is that it's not as though this is unprecedented.
00:48:24.980
Why are federal bureaucrats, who are probably aware of this story, why are they so tone deaf and go, yeah, it was a scandal.
00:48:37.980
Because they're not being held accountable by the people who should be holding them accountable.
00:48:43.980
We send politicians, elected representatives to Ottawa, in theory at least, to protect the public purse.
00:48:50.980
The politicians that we send there, they're not doing that.
00:48:55.980
What happens when you run a $40 billion deficit year after year?
00:48:59.980
It sends the signal to the bureaucracy that don't worry about wasting taxpayers money because you're not going to be held accountable.
00:49:06.980
So, look, like I wish that these unelected bureaucrats would exercise some common sense and just realize that their neighbors in the private sector, the ones who pay their salaries, are going through a really tough time.
00:49:18.980
I wish those unelected bureaucrats had that common sense.
00:49:21.980
But at the end of the day, the responsibility is on the members of parliament to hold them accountable.
00:49:26.980
But when the members of parliament are spending like crazy running these huge deficits, that sends the signal to the unelected bureaucracy that, hey, don't worry about it.
00:49:40.980
So who are the elected officials that are supposed to be watching over the public purse and that are failing to do just that?
00:49:52.980
If we believe the polls, it looks like Pierre Polyev is headed towards a majority government whenever the next election is called.
00:50:01.980
I think Mr. Polyev has a generation of work to achieve.
00:50:07.980
Those first four years are just going to be absolutely incredible.
00:50:12.980
If I was in charge, and I want to bounce this off you because I don't think this is a so-called stretch goal, I think one of the mandates I would do is this.
00:50:21.980
Every single government, department, agency, bureaucracy, you must slash your budget by 1% per year.
00:50:36.980
Do you think Pierre Polyev will go down that route?
00:50:42.980
I mean, like, Trudeau has added 108,000 extra bureaucrats in less than a decade, a 42% increase to the federal bureaucracy.
00:50:51.980
I mean, 1%, in my opinion, is not even nearly enough.
00:50:54.980
Like after this government has been spending like crazy for so long, and you can only find 1% of savings, like, come on, right?
00:51:02.980
Like, the way that this Trudeau government has been spending, finding savings in every area of the budget should be like finding water in the ocean.
00:51:09.980
So, like, in my opinion, 1% savings is not far enough, not even close.
00:51:17.980
In fact, Mr. Polyev has said he will fix the budget and provide tax relief.
00:51:24.980
Well, for Mr. Polyev to live up to that promise, it'll be directly tied to his ability to shrink Ottawa's bureaucracy.
00:51:33.980
And, you know, Frank, if I lied, I do have one more question.
00:51:39.980
You and all the other staffers at the Canadian Taxpayer Federation, you do incredible work uncovering the wanton waste there.
00:51:50.980
Do you ever get saddened that you expose all this financial carnage?
00:52:17.980
And we do it because we believe in what we're doing, right?
00:52:19.980
We know that Canadians work very hard for their salaries and for the tax dollars they pay.
00:52:25.980
And it honestly, it makes me sick to my stomach when you have these bureaucrats and politicians just blowing our money and trying to raise taxes.
00:52:32.980
But, you know, I'm naturally, I think, an optimistic person and I understand that policy takes time to change.
00:52:39.980
But what I'm really happy about is I see the tide is turning.
00:52:44.980
And I just know and I see Canadians becoming more and more frustrated and ready to take action against these overspending, overtaxing politicians and bureaucrats in Ottawa.
00:53:01.980
I'm sure we'll have you back soon enough because it seems never ending.
00:53:21.980
My final thoughts on this file, folks, is for you to get proactive, which is to say,
00:53:27.980
if you want to take a stand against what's happening on our streets.
00:53:32.980
Well, I invite you to come to the Toronto intersection of Bathurst and Shepherd from 12 noon to 2 p.m.
00:53:39.980
That's when the dueling demonstrations shall be occurring.
00:53:43.980
The pro Hamas people and the pro Israel people.
00:53:51.980
This is really about civilization versus savagery.
00:54:06.980
Well, folks, that wraps up tonight's edition of the Ezreal event show.
00:54:10.980
The big boss man, Ezra, he'll be back in this chair on Monday.
00:54:14.980
In fact, if you're coming out on Sunday to Bathurst and Shepherd, I know he's going to be there, too.
00:54:20.980
So in the meantime, have a wonderful and safe weekend.