Rebel News Podcast - EZRA LEVANT ｜ Update! We now have more than 1,800 Fight The Fines clients

00:00:00.000 Hello, my Rebels. Very exciting show today, a milestone.

00:00:04.060 We now have more than 1,800 cases, 1,800 clients,

00:00:09.760 that we're taking through our FightTheFines.com project.

00:00:12.940 Can you believe it? Nearly 2,000.

00:00:16.420 So I'll give you a bit of an update on the project,

00:00:18.480 and then we'll have a lengthy interview

00:00:21.360 with the lawyer who is managing the project, Victoria Solomon.

00:00:26.420 She'll talk about the paralegals and the other lawyers we have on the project.

00:00:30.120 The fundraising, the fund spending,

00:00:34.040 the dozens of victories we've had already.

00:00:37.020 So this is a really super-duper update special on this one subject.

00:00:41.980 And I think you'll enjoy it.

00:00:44.300 So please do sit back and listen to our FightTheFines.

00:00:47.840 I'd call it an annual report, actually.

00:00:50.980 If you want the video version of this,

00:00:52.920 just sign up to become a Rebel News Plus subscriber.

00:00:55.640 It's $8 a month. That's nothing.

00:00:58.160 In addition to getting the video version of this podcast,

00:01:01.560 you get video podcasts from Sheila Gunn-Reed,

00:01:04.240 David Menzies, Andrew Chapados,

00:01:06.540 and the satisfaction of knowing that you help keep Rebel News strong and independent.

00:01:10.660 Just go to rebelnews.com and click subscribe.

00:01:13.240 Okay, here's today's show.

00:01:14.160 Tonight, we now have more than 1,800 Fight The Fines clients.

00:01:34.880 We'll give you an update on the project.

00:01:36.940 It's June 22nd, and this is The Ezra LeVant Show.

00:01:42.780 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?

00:01:46.500 There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.

00:01:50.580 The only thing I have to say to the government,

00:01:53.040 the why I'm publishing,

00:01:54.340 is because it's my bloody right to do so.

00:01:56.440 The lockdown started in March of 2020.

00:02:04.780 Two weeks to flatten the curve, they said.

00:02:07.320 The idea being you can't stop a virus from spreading,

00:02:10.300 but maybe if the rate of spread can be slowed down,

00:02:14.220 our hospitals wouldn't be overwhelmed.

00:02:16.980 That's what that meant.

00:02:18.000 Flatten the curve so that we don't all get sick at once.

00:02:21.360 You'll recall President Donald Trump sent two massive Navy hospital ships to help,

00:02:27.860 one to Los Angeles, one to New York,

00:02:30.420 to help take the overflow in case they couldn't flatten the curve.

00:02:34.840 Except those two ships were never needed.

00:02:36.760 They were never used.

00:02:37.580 No hospitals were overwhelmed.

00:02:39.760 In fact, public health officials had canceled so many other procedures and exams

00:02:44.960 and non-emergency health care.

00:02:47.540 Hospitals were pretty much empty.

00:02:49.040 So bored staff spent their days making cringeworthy music karaoke videos on TikTok.

00:02:56.980 So the curve was flat from the beginning.

00:02:59.300 But the lockdowns were not lifted.

00:03:02.040 You can't give autocrats that kind of power and expect them to relinquish it easily.

00:03:06.980 In fact, things progressively got worse.

00:03:09.360 Not for the disease.

00:03:10.740 I mean, for the lockdowns.

00:03:12.560 There were no mask laws for the first six months of the pandemic.

00:03:16.120 Do you remember that?

00:03:16.620 Because, if you recall, China had bought up the entire world's mask supply. 0.56

00:03:23.480 It took six months for them to be replenished.

00:03:26.080 And having spent billions of dollars on those replenishments,

00:03:29.880 of course, our politicians had to command people to wear them to justify the expenditure,

00:03:35.060 even if it meant that people like Theresa Tam had to explain why she suddenly changed her 0.80

00:03:39.920 scientific opinion that masks were dangerous to her scientific opinion that masks were essential. 0.73

00:03:46.580 Masks have become the flag of lockdownism, the proof that you are a true believer.

00:03:54.140 Even though every single high priest of the new science takes off their mask as soon as they think the cameras are off.

00:04:00.320 They put their masks on for the cameras and they take them off as soon as they think no one is looking.

00:04:05.160 It's fake, but it's the symbol.

00:04:07.940 It's the in-group.

00:04:09.860 It's incredible reading stories about leftists who are vaccinated or whatever,

00:04:14.920 who no longer live under mask mandates, but who choose to wear them.

00:04:19.620 Not for scientific reasons, but for political identity reasons.

00:04:23.380 They don't want people to think that they're Republicans or conservatives or whatever.

00:04:27.800 It really is about that, about submission to an ideology and proof that you're a fancy person.

00:04:34.780 Of course, there are other nonsensical rules, too, like the 14-day quarantine for people coming home to Canada from the U.S.,

00:04:41.640 even if they repeatedly test negative for the virus.

00:04:45.240 Even if, I should say, except if you're a friend of someone powerful.

00:04:49.160 So, NHL millionaire players and their NHL billionaire owners are exempt from all that quarantine nonsense.

00:04:57.480 And the CBC president is, too.

00:04:59.980 I don't know how that works.

00:05:01.600 She lives in New York and she flies back and forth from her New York home to her work in Toronto every week without quarantining.

00:05:09.300 It's not about health.

00:05:10.520 It's about control and favors for friends.

00:05:13.940 I showed this next video on one of my noontime live streams.

00:05:17.700 It's one of a dozen videos I could have chosen from.

00:05:21.200 They're all the same.

00:05:22.080 It's some man wearing a mask or maybe two masks at some public mall, in this case in Toronto.

00:05:28.560 And he spots a woman in the distance who isn't wearing her mask.

00:05:32.020 And he goes up to her.

00:05:33.280 He rages at her.

00:05:34.740 Listen to it.

00:05:36.080 It's pretty much the same script every time.

00:05:38.680 Listen to what he's saying, but also what he's not saying.

00:05:41.120 Watch what he's doing, but what he's also not doing.

00:05:43.680 He's not truly afraid of this woman.

00:05:47.520 If he was really afraid of her, he'd be walking away from her.

00:05:51.780 If he thought she had Ebola, he wouldn't be walking towards her.

00:05:56.400 He never once makes a health argument here.

00:05:59.780 He obviously just doesn't believe that she's a threat to either herself or anyone else,

00:06:05.320 unlike, let's say, an Ebola person walking through the mall.

00:06:07.480 It takes him a moment to get to the point.

00:06:13.000 He really just thinks it's unfair that she isn't wearing one, but he is.

00:06:19.080 That's really what he's mad about.

00:06:20.860 He has conditioned himself to accept this as the new normal.

00:06:24.520 He has surrendered his freedom.

00:06:26.280 He's wearing a muzzle and dehumanizing himself and his interactions with other people.

00:06:31.040 Imagine his rage at finding a woman, no less, who's more of a man than he is.

00:06:37.560 Take a look.

00:06:38.460 You're not allowed.

00:06:40.560 That's the security thing.

00:06:43.300 There's children here and everything.

00:06:45.840 You're not special.

00:06:47.420 I just come to the mall.

00:06:49.880 I don't need a person like you being beside me without a mask.

00:06:53.960 Well, you might want to talk to the security.

00:06:57.660 You might want to talk to the security.

00:06:59.260 This lady here is in the mall without a mask. 1.00

00:07:05.460 Yep, got you.

00:07:06.560 Yeah, that's okay.

00:07:07.420 Yeah, that's okay.

00:07:08.120 You don't have a mask on.

00:07:10.100 What is your...

00:07:10.680 Who are you?

00:07:11.720 I've just come to the mall to pick up...

00:07:12.960 Okay, yeah, sure. 0.86

00:07:14.040 And you are a threat. 0.58

00:07:14.880 What is your name?

00:07:15.920 What is your name? 0.99

00:07:16.500 You're a threat. 0.83

00:07:17.840 What is your name? 0.99

00:07:18.480 Get out of the mall.

00:07:20.240 She can't wear a mask.

00:07:22.220 It is my business.

00:07:23.120 She's right here.

00:07:24.660 No, no, it's not even...

00:07:25.820 Put your mask on.

00:07:27.140 Put your mask on.

00:07:28.540 This lady, guys, on YouTube, she's causing trouble. 1.00

00:07:36.220 She has no mask on.

00:07:38.260 It's okay.

00:07:38.700 She shouldn't be in the mall.

00:07:39.940 She is examined.

00:07:41.060 No, she is not examined.

00:07:42.800 Did you see the paper? 1.00

00:07:44.280 She's a liar. 1.00

00:07:45.120 Hold on. 1.00

00:07:45.560 No, no.

00:07:46.160 I don't care.

00:07:47.240 Please, come with me.

00:07:48.840 Come with me.

00:07:50.040 Please, come with me.

00:07:51.080 Sir, everybody's complaining about her with no mask on. 1.00

00:07:54.160 Everybody's got a mask.

00:07:55.220 Sir, she's examined.

00:07:56.780 Where?

00:07:57.980 She told you to believe what she says?

00:08:00.140 No, sir.

00:08:00.440 I don't.

00:08:02.120 The police needs to come, bro.

00:08:03.580 This is not fair.

00:08:05.020 You might get arrested, sir.

00:08:06.280 No, you will.

00:08:07.120 Come with me.

00:08:07.340 I'm living, but he's hunting me.

00:08:09.360 Okay, come with me.

00:08:09.780 I want the police to come, let's say that.

00:08:11.880 Okay, sir, please come.

00:08:12.580 Come with me.

00:08:12.880 I'll show you the paper.

00:08:13.640 Come with me.

00:08:14.240 I'll show you the paper, but I need his name.

00:08:15.480 Okay, okay, okay.

00:08:16.480 Okay.

00:08:16.580 It's psychologically slightly different for women mask scolds. 0.69

00:08:21.280 The arguments are usually different, but every time I see a male mask extremist, mask

00:08:27.200 snitch, mask scold, especially if he's criticizing a woman, it always comes out in the end.

00:08:32.220 What he was really furious about wasn't any health risk, but that a woman has more courage

00:08:37.960 than he does and dissents.

00:08:40.920 And so he wants the force of the law to be brought down on her because that's what he

00:08:46.320 was really afraid of the whole time, the force of the law or whatever, or being scolded.

00:08:50.720 So he needs to see that imaginary, that thing he was afraid of, that pain inflicted on this

00:08:57.020 woman, because if it won't be, it proves that he was afraid for nothing and he's really just

00:09:02.060 been a coward the whole time.

00:09:03.620 But enough amateur psychology on my part. 0.50

00:09:06.520 But wow, have we ever been ripped up as a society by this, eh?

00:09:09.520 Not by the virus, not by the disease itself.

00:09:12.280 That has done damage to our seniors' homes in particular, but statistically it has not

00:09:17.120 exceeded the annual flu for people under 60 in terms of death count.

00:09:21.380 It just hasn't.

00:09:22.020 I'm sorry.

00:09:22.960 And I'm glad, actually.

00:09:24.060 I'm not sorry.

00:09:25.600 But boy, it's pitted us against each other.

00:09:27.600 Can you imagine that guy in the mall?

00:09:29.860 Can you imagine us acting that way in the before times so commonly?

00:09:34.860 We saw these trends early here at Rebel News.

00:09:37.740 We had no special knowledge about the disease, but a month into the apocalypse that never

00:09:42.720 materialized, we realized that it was like another invisible threat that's hyped up by

00:09:49.320 the media and the government to justify massive regulation of our lives.

00:09:52.760 The theory of man-made global warming, something else you can't see, but just trust us, it's

00:09:57.260 really bad.

00:09:58.260 And trust us, we're all about to die from that unless we, in that case, stop using so

00:10:02.340 much energy and pay more taxes, except for the exempt class, right?

00:10:06.880 Like Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio and everyone else who flies in private jets but tells the

00:10:11.840 rest of us to pay a carbon tax.

00:10:13.260 So it was that video, it was not that video, it was another video that I saw just over

00:10:21.600 a year ago that convinced me to do something about all this, more than just complaining.

00:10:25.660 I complain, that's what a pundit is, really, a complainer.

00:10:28.600 But it was this video of a pastor in Calgary named Archer Pavlovsky, who for many years has

00:10:34.380 fed the homeless on the streets of Calgary.

00:10:36.800 The city always gives him a hassle about it for some reason.

00:10:39.920 They say he doesn't have a restaurant license, they give him tickets.

00:10:43.160 The city's intolerant, Mayor Naheed Nez, he just hates this guy.

00:10:46.300 I really don't know why, maybe because he shames the city by showing the homelessness there

00:10:50.780 that they prefer was kept in the shadows.

00:10:52.980 Anyways, there was Arthur and his small little team from his church feeding the cold and the

00:10:59.440 hungry, it was actually snowing.

00:11:01.240 And then a bunch of bullies from the Calgary police come up and literally start pushing these

00:11:06.840 Christians around and giving them enormous tickets, but this time they used the pandemic 1.00

00:11:12.920 lockdown as their excuse.

00:11:14.800 This is an illegal gathering.

00:11:16.500 Take a look.

00:11:17.380 This was the video that did it for me about 14 months ago.

00:11:21.740 This is not an event.

00:11:23.280 This is not your picnic in the neighborhood for the fun of it.

00:11:28.340 We are providing necessities of life to those that you and your bosses refuse to provide.

00:11:35.900 You've got all kinds of events happening right now, and yet the Calgary's finest are not bothering

00:11:45.180 them. 0.70

00:11:45.520 This is the hypocrisy of this city. 0.97

00:11:48.980 This is the hypocrisy of our wonderful, fearless leaders. 0.66

00:11:53.340 Where is Naheed Nezhi?

00:11:55.380 The mayor of this city.

00:11:56.840 Can you guys do the respectful social distancing?

00:11:59.020 Stand back from me a little bit.

00:12:00.980 Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

00:12:02.320 I need to eat feet.

00:12:03.140 Stand back, okay?

00:12:04.500 Or what? 0.99

00:12:04.880 You're going to f***ing threaten me and f***ing abuse me? 0.99

00:12:07.560 Hey, guys. 0.99

00:12:08.820 Do not do that.

00:12:09.880 Tell him not to touch me.

00:12:11.380 Six feet away for everybody.

00:12:13.380 That's for everybody.

00:12:14.360 I was so mad when I saw that.

00:12:17.340 This was very early days.

00:12:19.640 So I decided to start a project called Fight the Fines, and we set up the website fightthefines.com.

00:12:26.220 Not to pay the fines for people.

00:12:27.620 I don't have that kind of money, and I don't want to pay them.

00:12:29.600 I want to fine them.

00:12:30.200 We decided we were going to crowdfund lawyers to fight egregious cases like Arthur's, and

00:12:35.500 Arthur became our very first client.

00:12:38.540 Soon we started hearing about other crazy cases across Canada, like Walter Matheson in New

00:12:43.680 Brunswick, who got a lockdown fine for literally sitting in his car, windows rolled up by

00:12:48.960 himself, in a Tim Hortons parking lot, drinking a coffee.

00:12:52.800 Remember that?

00:12:53.700 How you doing?

00:12:54.500 Not too bad.

00:12:55.540 Good.

00:12:56.440 Good.

00:12:57.080 Tim Hortons has asked me to move people from the parking lot here.

00:12:59.680 Really?

00:13:00.060 Okay.

00:13:00.180 I know you're by yourself and all that, but what it does is it's letting the teens see

00:13:03.760 what happens, and then they all start hanging out here later on.

00:13:06.520 No, I don't believe that.

00:13:06.900 And Tim Hortons.

00:13:07.480 Pardon me?

00:13:07.960 I don't believe that.

00:13:09.060 You don't believe the teens will do that?

00:13:11.460 That's their opinion.

00:13:12.740 No, that's true, but they have asked, and it is up to them to do it.

00:13:15.320 This country is still a free country.

00:13:17.180 Okay, if you don't move, I'm going to give you a $292 ticket.

00:13:19.320 Is that right?

00:13:19.900 Yes.

00:13:20.240 For doing what?

00:13:21.760 For not moving in compliance to what I'm saying.

00:13:23.780 I'm trying to be nice to you.

00:13:24.640 That's not a law.

00:13:25.280 License, please.

00:13:27.700 License, please.

00:13:28.300 No, I'll help you.

00:13:29.400 Then leave now.

00:13:30.520 Okay.

00:13:31.180 I was nice to you.

00:13:32.080 I gave you a chance.

00:13:33.100 Get out.

00:13:34.080 If I catch you back here, it will be a $292 ticket.

00:13:36.500 What's your name, sir?

00:13:37.360 Constable John Thompson.

00:13:38.380 Okay, thank you, John.

00:13:39.600 Okay.

00:13:40.300 I would still like to see your driver's license, though.

00:13:42.100 Well, I'm okay.

00:13:43.040 No, I would like to see it, sir.

00:13:45.200 Stop right there.

00:13:47.440 Driver's license.

00:13:48.680 Just a minute, I'll back up.

00:13:50.120 Doesn't matter.

00:13:50.660 You don't have to.

00:13:51.140 You can stop right where you are.

00:13:52.800 How long is this going to go on?

00:13:54.320 I have no idea.

00:13:55.600 No idea.

00:13:57.080 I don't like it any more than you do, but I'm doing a job.

00:13:59.580 I'll be right back.

00:14:02.000 Okay, sir.

00:14:02.440 I was nice to you.

00:14:03.200 I asked you to leave.

00:14:04.300 You gave me a hard time.

00:14:05.480 So now you're getting a ticket.

00:14:06.280 I didn't give you a hard time.

00:14:06.640 Under the failure to comply with the directions of the Emergency Measures Act.

00:14:09.560 Yes, you did, sir.

00:14:10.400 Okay?

00:14:11.080 You didn't want to leave.

00:14:12.080 Don't try arguing now.

00:14:12.860 If you want to take it up with something, you can take it up with the sergeant at the office.

00:14:15.720 I'm not dealing with you.

00:14:16.640 Or you can go to court and you can contest it.

00:14:18.660 Okay?

00:14:18.940 When did the court date?

00:14:19.540 $292.50.

00:14:21.180 You can pay it at any service in New Brunswick.

00:14:24.080 Do you want to go to court in English or in French?

00:14:27.660 I'm English.

00:14:28.600 Do you want it in English?

00:14:29.760 Of course I do.

00:14:30.880 Okay.

00:14:32.220 You have your driver's license back.

00:14:33.520 Thank you very much.

00:14:34.060 I'm going to get you to sign here.

00:14:34.880 It's not admitting guilt.

00:14:35.760 Just I've explained it to you.

00:14:36.600 I'm not going to sign, sir.

00:14:37.980 Refuse to sign.

00:14:38.900 It still stands, even if you don't sign.

00:14:40.920 I don't.

00:14:41.460 Okay?

00:14:42.360 If you come back here, you will now be trespassing.

00:14:45.660 Excuse me?

00:14:46.420 If you come back, you will now be trespassing.

00:14:48.620 Does that include every Tim Hortons in town?

00:14:50.640 No, that's just one here in Hampton.

00:14:52.100 Just this one.

00:14:52.840 Just this one.

00:14:53.380 So if you come back, you're trespassing.

00:14:55.340 There's your ticket.

00:14:56.720 Leave the parking lot now, sir.

00:14:57.920 Let's have another one.

00:14:58.720 Next one goes up to $1,000.

00:15:00.520 Really?

00:15:01.240 Yes.

00:15:01.880 You can get up to $10,000.

00:15:03.300 How many have you given out today?

00:15:04.720 You're the first.

00:15:06.160 Well, I feel so good about that.

00:15:08.000 You're lucky.

00:15:08.380 You're the first.

00:15:08.820 You're the first out for one time.

00:15:10.680 Thank you very much.

00:15:11.800 Yeah, was that really about public health?

00:15:13.720 No, it was not.

00:15:14.840 It was about abuse and force and compliance and submission.

00:15:19.020 The very things that are so terrifying to that scolding mask guy in the Toronto Mall.

00:15:24.280 Do you see?

00:15:24.680 The police don't have to threaten millions of Canadians.

00:15:27.640 They can just threaten hundreds or maybe thousands, and the rest of Canadians will see and get

00:15:34.440 the message and become scared and compliant like the guy in the mall.

00:15:38.320 In fact, they'll become little enforcers, little snitches like that guy in the mall just

00:15:41.860 so the cops don't come down.

00:15:42.880 Please don't come for me.

00:15:44.140 I'll be your volunteer enforcer.

00:15:46.040 Just don't enforce on me, please.

00:15:48.420 So we started taking cases across Canada, and we actually started taking cases in the

00:15:52.320 UK and Australia, too.

00:15:53.840 I think some of the worst cases in the world were from Australia. 1.00

00:15:57.840 This one, a homeless man sleeping in his car trying to save up money to get back into an

00:16:03.280 apartment.

00:16:03.920 He got a massive police ticket for breaking the curfew.

00:16:08.860 He doesn't have a home, and he got ticketed for that.

00:16:12.200 Remember this?

00:16:12.640 They got out of the car and then started asking me, why am I out of my house after curfew?

00:16:18.300 Like I explained to them, this is my house.

00:16:20.960 I'm living here.

00:16:21.680 I don't understand what they mean, how am I out of my house?

00:16:24.640 It's the only place that I have got to stay.

00:16:27.000 Besides that, like on a park bench, but a car is much safer, warmer.

00:16:31.240 You know, at least you've got doors to lock so no one can really attack you.

00:16:34.320 They could throw stuff at your car, but that's about it.

00:16:36.460 There's not much you can really do if you're in a car, so I don't think they should be giving

00:16:40.280 fines.

00:16:40.740 They should be helping.

00:16:41.600 That's what the police are meant to be there for, to help people, not to harass.

00:16:45.600 Just, just absurd.

00:16:47.440 And I think the most heartbreaking case we've taken anywhere in the world, it's from Australia 1.00

00:16:51.700 too.

00:16:52.060 It's a mum who was on the street.

00:16:54.020 She was carrying a sign opposing the lockdown, but I want you to know she was not at a rally.

00:16:57.860 It was not a gathering.

00:16:59.180 She was just on the street, just with that little cardboard sign.

00:17:02.740 And police seized her, threw her in the back of a police truck, separated her from her screaming

00:17:08.920 child.

00:17:10.200 Take a look.

00:17:10.580 My son's with me.

00:17:12.300 I am not under arrest for anything.

00:17:14.040 You are.

00:17:14.500 No.

00:17:15.020 Yes, you are.

00:17:15.460 You need to get your hand off me. 0.97

00:17:17.220 Amen.

00:17:17.800 I do not.

00:17:18.500 Please, get him.

00:17:19.560 No.

00:17:19.940 Get him.

00:17:20.380 No.

00:17:20.660 No.

00:17:21.280 No.

00:17:21.420 No.

00:17:21.500 No.

00:17:21.840 No.

00:17:24.000 No.

00:17:24.500 No.

00:17:25.500 No.

00:17:26.000 No.

00:17:26.500 No.

00:17:27.000 No.

00:17:27.500 No.

00:17:28.500 No.

00:17:29.000 No.

00:17:29.500 No.

00:17:30.000 No.

00:17:30.500 Stop this.

00:17:31.000 This is not okay.

00:17:32.160 I hate that video so much.

00:17:50.960 I hate watching it.

00:17:52.980 We've taken her case too. 0.98

00:17:55.680 I swear Australia's police are awful.

00:17:58.020 Remember this guy from just last month.

00:18:00.040 Hi guys.

00:18:00.900 What are you doing?

00:18:06.400 Record this picture.

00:18:07.780 What are you doing?

00:18:09.120 Do not touch my neck bro. 0.87

00:18:10.660 Come out of the car.

00:18:11.440 Just get out of the car. 0.98

00:18:12.700 It's spinal surgery and it will soothe the shit out of you. 0.99

00:18:14.880 Come out of the car. 0.98

00:18:15.500 They're forcing somebody out of their vehicle now.

00:18:18.240 I've done nothing wrong.

00:18:19.260 You have?

00:18:19.320 I've done nothing wrong.

00:18:20.860 This is going nowhere.

00:18:22.180 Yep.

00:18:22.480 This is going nowhere. 0.98

00:18:23.160 Your week is f*** now. 1.00

00:18:24.060 F*** off. 0.99

00:18:25.620 Major. 1.00

00:18:26.100 Keep recording.

00:18:27.140 Look at what you're doing to my son. 1.00

00:18:28.640 F*** off man. 1.00

00:18:29.700 It's okay. 1.00

00:18:30.340 Major.

00:18:30.900 Sit back.

00:18:31.620 You alright? 0.99

00:18:32.560 Leave me the f*** alone bro. 0.95

00:18:35.260 I've done nothing wrong. 0.98

00:18:36.860 Just the worst.

00:18:38.380 Of course the police hate us for reporting on these things.

00:18:41.800 They repeatedly arrest our reporter in Australia.

00:18:44.960 Abi Yamini.

00:18:45.580 Remember this?

00:18:46.320 It was quite peaceful until...

00:18:48.140 They've got it!

00:18:48.820 He's not here for any purposes or reasons.

00:18:50.900 Abi, let's got it!

00:18:51.980 He's under arrest.

00:18:52.500 But this guy here is going to be placed under arrest right now.

00:18:56.220 Why am I under arrest?

00:18:57.120 Under arrest.

00:18:57.880 I'm media.

00:18:59.120 I'm media.

00:18:59.720 I'm media.

00:19:00.220 I am media.

00:19:00.840 I'm media.

00:19:01.840 I'm media.

00:19:02.460 You're afraid of it at the moment.

00:19:04.880 I've got my permit in my pocket.

00:19:07.840 My permit is in my pocket.

00:19:09.840 I'm fine.

00:19:10.340 I'm fine.

00:19:10.840 I'm fine.

00:19:11.340 I'm fine.

00:19:11.840 For recording devices because you don't want to be recorded.

00:19:14.220 Do you remember how that happened?

00:19:15.220 Is it in the back of the police vehicle or is it in the back?

00:19:17.720 In the back.

00:19:18.220 Thank you.

00:19:19.020 Music there, you're seconded.

00:19:21.420 Guys, look, I don't want to go, so they're going to have to physically take me.

00:19:26.060 You can see here, it's against my will.

00:19:28.240 You can see here, guys, it's against my will.

00:19:30.700 You can see here I'm getting forced.

00:19:32.980 I'm pushed to the bank.

00:19:34.020 They've done that to us in Canada, too, not quite as dramatically.

00:19:46.280 The Toronto police are the most violent towards us.

00:19:50.360 Oh, no.

00:19:51.060 No, no.

00:19:52.080 No, no.

00:19:53.060 No, no, I don't, I don't.

00:19:54.060 I don't.

00:19:55.540 I don't, I don't.

00:19:56.260 I don't.

00:20:04.540 I don't want to.

00:20:09.000 No, no.

00:20:10.520 Alright.

00:20:12.400 Yeah.

00:20:12.900 you 1.00

00:20:42.900 Just a disgrace. We're suing them. 0.99

00:20:51.740 Montreal's police are really creepy, too.

00:20:54.740 They found our Airbnb where our staff were staying in Montreal.

00:20:58.440 They wanted to raid it and search our rooms without a search warrant for no reason.

00:21:03.640 They just wanted to.

00:21:04.400 They arrested our reporter, David Menzies, and took him to jail.

00:21:07.840 And on other occasions, they've roughed up several of our other reporters just for reporting.

00:21:12.900 Oh, look at this. The affirmative action hire. 0.67

00:21:17.200 Are you see a lot of young?

00:21:19.580 Go cover Menzies. 1.00

00:21:23.080 Did you touch him? Did you touch him? Did you touch him? Why did you touch him?

00:21:29.980 Because he wasn't getting married.

00:21:31.200 No, no. He drove into me. He drove into me.

00:21:34.320 Are you hiding your name?

00:21:36.060 Remove into me. You want to get arrested for this?

00:21:42.400 He's gonna arrest him. 1.00

00:21:43.740 You're the thugs. You're the thugs. 1.00

00:21:46.780 Here come the fugs. 1.00

00:21:47.720 Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! 1.00

00:21:50.360 Shame! Shame! Shame!

00:21:52.480 Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! 0.64

00:22:03.140 You see my point? This stopped being about the virus a very long time ago.

00:22:07.140 This stopped being about flattening the curve a very long time ago.

00:22:10.380 It's instead being about flattening our civil liberties for a long time

00:22:14.060 because we're here at Rebel News.

00:22:16.460 We're one of the few news networks that has been covering the lockdown

00:22:19.400 from the people's point of view as opposed to cheering it on

00:22:22.720 from the politicians' point of view. 0.99

00:22:24.540 Because that would be roughed up a bit, I think the stupidest response to us 0.99

00:22:27.920 was from Doug Ford's Justice Department. 0.97

00:22:30.480 I don't know if you remember, they sent two letters to threaten to sue us

00:22:35.020 because we used this stock photo of an Ontario Provincial Police uniform,

00:22:40.900 not even a cop's face, on our Fight the Fines website.

00:22:44.980 They threatened us with four lawsuits over that image.

00:22:47.600 How pitiful they are.

00:22:50.040 But this whole thing has confirmed for me,

00:22:51.520 the importance of our Fight the Fines project

00:22:53.480 that we launched back in April of 2020.

00:22:56.880 More than 14 months ago, the importance to the individual people we're helping, of course.

00:23:02.860 The importance of someone fighting back for you

00:23:07.040 because the left-wing Canadian Civil Liberties Association hasn't lifted a finger.

00:23:11.340 Our allies at the Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms

00:23:14.080 have done a great job.

00:23:15.740 A lot of important cases. I give them unlimited credit for that.

00:23:18.640 But no one on the left.

00:23:20.540 It's important that we do this.

00:23:22.920 And I'm here to tell you that as of yesterday,

00:23:26.040 we've taken 1,834 Fight the Fines cases in Canada alone.

00:23:31.120 Taken a couple dozen in the UK and Australia.

00:23:33.460 But 1,834 in Canada.

00:23:36.620 I can't even believe it.

00:23:38.120 In fact, every single day we get 10 to 20 people asking for help.

00:23:41.680 Some people get a pretty basic ticket.

00:23:44.000 Some people get a more complicated ticket.

00:23:45.780 Some people have literally received criminal prosecutions of one kind or another.

00:23:50.180 And Pastor Pawlowski, well, he wasn't just our first client.

00:23:53.880 He's been our repeat client.

00:23:56.660 It won't surprise you to learn that he has received many more tickets since that first one.

00:24:01.020 And then he went viral with this video a few months ago from his church

00:24:05.340 when some cops were trying to interrupt.

00:24:07.280 Please get out.

00:24:09.620 Get out of this property.

00:24:10.800 Immediately get out.

00:24:12.860 Get out of this property.

00:24:15.280 Immediately.

00:24:16.300 Out.

00:24:16.700 I don't want to hear anything.

00:24:18.000 Out of this property.

00:24:19.300 Immediately.

00:24:19.840 I don't want to hear a word.

00:24:21.320 Out.

00:24:22.600 Out.

00:24:23.740 Out of this property.

00:24:26.100 Immediately until you come back with a warrant.

00:24:29.000 Out.

00:24:30.460 Out.

00:24:31.700 Out.

00:24:33.100 Out.

00:24:34.460 Out.

00:24:35.140 Out of this property.

00:24:37.640 Immediately out.

00:24:39.880 Immediately go out and don't come back.

00:24:43.560 I don't want to talk to you.

00:24:45.180 Not a word.

00:24:45.940 Out of this property.

00:24:47.160 Out of this property.

00:24:48.760 Immediately out.

00:24:50.160 Wow, that went super viral around the world.

00:24:52.560 And it politically embarrassed the awful Calgary police and their mayor

00:24:55.920 who decided to crack down on this turbulent priest.

00:24:59.120 And so one day after church, when he was on his way home just driving,

00:25:03.180 police swarmed his vehicle.

00:25:05.180 Like he was a drug kingpin in a getaway or something.

00:25:09.640 Like he was a terrorist.

00:25:11.120 They dragged him out of his car onto the middle of a busy highway.

00:25:16.340 Cars whizzing by.

00:25:18.060 Made him kneel down on the middle of the street.

00:25:20.960 Yeah, so we've been busy.

00:25:24.020 Arthur is famous.

00:25:25.500 And some of our other cases are too.

00:25:27.600 But most of them aren't.

00:25:28.720 Most are just severely normal people.

00:25:31.160 I checked our video playlist, which you can see here.

00:25:34.040 We now have 166 stories that we've told, 166 videos we've told about the different families

00:25:41.100 we're helping.

00:25:41.740 And that's the thing.

00:25:42.640 For some families, especially targeted for low, for, by, by the lockdown laws,

00:25:47.140 $1,000, $1,500 fine can be devastating.

00:25:52.480 I mean, that's a huge pill for anyone to swallow.

00:25:54.400 I don't care if you're a millionaire.

00:25:55.980 If you get a $1,500 fine, you're going to be upset about it for days.

00:25:59.300 But what if you're someone targeted by the political lockdown, a working class person,

00:26:04.200 someone who can't do their job by Zoom, you're not in a government union, you're not a banker

00:26:09.360 or a lawyer, you're maybe a waiter or a waitress or a bartender, you were working in a retail store

00:26:14.440 and you were shut down, but Amazon wasn't.

00:26:17.100 And you're outside because, you know, you don't have a backyard, let alone a country home.

00:26:22.260 And some busybody cop comes to kick you out of a park somewhere. 1.00

00:26:25.160 So you get a $1,500 fine, that's going to destroy you, make you miss your rent, make you,

00:26:31.240 I don't know, cause such a big problem in your life, you're already stressed, you're already

00:26:35.780 unemployed.

00:26:36.740 $1,500 fine is the kind of thing that could break up a marriage, you know.

00:26:40.340 Our lawyers tell us that most of our clients are working class people.

00:26:44.000 Of course they are.

00:26:44.740 The lockdown class, the politicians, the journalists, the lawyers, those types, they're not the

00:26:49.480 ones getting ticketed for doing illegal haircuts or trying to earn a living or going to the

00:26:53.980 park, they've already got their fancy backyard pools or getaways in the country.

00:26:58.000 So we now have more than 1,800 clients.

00:27:01.260 And a couple of months ago, we had a huge breakthrough.

00:27:03.740 We are now working with the CRA compliant charity called the Democracy Fund, which gives

00:27:09.460 charitable tax receipts for donations.

00:27:11.500 So unlike donations to Rebel News, which isn't charitable, donations to the Fight the Fines

00:27:15.940 project, they are charitable and you'll get a receipt from the Democracy Fund.

00:27:19.980 You can use it tax time.

00:27:20.900 We've also learned a lot about how to manage costs.

00:27:23.940 I mean, 1,800 plus cases, that's like a very large national law firm, which I guess we

00:27:28.740 are now.

00:27:30.360 We have lawyers in many provinces and now we have a full-time in-house lawyer.

00:27:33.920 We have two full-time paralegals working directly for Fight the Fines project, helping to coordinate

00:27:38.680 all the clients and all the lawyers.

00:27:40.760 But even with smart steps like that, and after a year of improving our systems, well, there's

00:27:45.360 just no way around it.

00:27:46.800 1,800 cases costs a lot of money.

00:27:48.680 On top of the full-time staff we have, we have to have lawyers in the field ready to theoretically

00:27:53.340 run 1,800 trials.

00:27:55.320 And some of them are going to be quite complicated.

00:27:57.260 Some of them are actually criminal cases, very serious.

00:27:59.600 So we're approaching the point where we have a question of, is there a limit to the number

00:28:03.760 of clients we can take?

00:28:04.780 It's one of the questions we'll discuss next with our full-time Fight the Fines legal

00:28:10.620 coordinator, Victoria Solomon.

00:28:12.920 Stay with us for that.

00:28:25.280 And joining me now in studio is Victoria Solomon, a lawyer, our legal coordinator for the Fight

00:28:32.780 Defines.com project, Victoria.

00:28:35.040 It's great to see you.

00:28:36.220 Thank you for being here today.

00:28:37.620 I thought we would give our viewers an update on how the whole project is going.

00:28:42.080 You told me just before we turned the cameras on that we have 1,834 cases that we've dealt

00:28:47.540 with, of which almost 100 have been resolved, most of which were withdrawn by prosecutors just

00:28:56.460 when we lawyered up.

00:28:57.260 Is that right?

00:28:57.860 Yes, that's right.

00:28:58.680 Yeah, we've had a tremendous success, I think, in this project to date, and we continue to

00:29:04.800 fight.

00:29:05.760 Well, you're on staff, and we have two paralegals who are working full-time.

00:29:10.740 In addition to you and the two legal eagles, paralegals, we have lawyers across the country

00:29:18.480 now.

00:29:18.700 This started out just a few places, but this is like a national law firm.

00:29:22.380 Yes, we've spread out coast to coast, and we have lawyers all over Canada, and it's

00:29:27.700 not only one lawyer, it's law firms.

00:29:30.380 So there are multiple lawyers, there are paralegals, there is staff that are working tirelessly

00:29:35.520 for our clients, literally around the clock.

00:29:38.880 Yeah, I mean, we have the website, and I see when people fill out the form, I get a little

00:29:43.440 ping, and I just take a glance.

00:29:44.800 Because the first thing that happens is people fill out the form, you look at it, and if there's

00:29:52.260 something that's really crazy or just junk, you throw it out.

00:29:55.080 But then you assign it, like you look at it, is it a ticket, is it a criminal charge?

00:30:01.340 So you sort of sort it out, and you're like the air traffic controller, or like you say,

00:30:06.000 okay, you take this, you take this.

00:30:07.520 Is that how it works?

00:30:08.200 Yes, that's how it works.

00:30:09.140 We have clients with many matters, some are criminal, some are civil, such as closure

00:30:14.820 orders, and some are tickets.

00:30:16.840 So a closure order, that would be for a business?

00:30:18.600 For businesses, that's right.

00:30:19.740 And a ticket, that's what most of them are?

00:30:21.840 Most of them are tickets or summons, and that's where the fines come from.

00:30:25.760 And then a few of them are more serious criminal matters.

00:30:28.680 That's right.

00:30:29.660 How many, out of 1,834 cases, how many are those most serious criminal matters?

00:30:35.860 So those are 16, and they're spread out across Canada, and I'm actually very excited about

00:30:42.320 them, because we just hired a senior counsel, Mohamed El Rashidi, who has retained clients

00:30:49.420 and will represent them in court.

00:30:51.560 So he can represent them anywhere in the country?

00:30:54.400 Anywhere, yeah.

00:30:55.660 And that's something that, in the olden days, you couldn't practice everywhere in the country,

00:31:00.460 but now the law societies have agreements with each other that they can practice a certain

00:31:05.540 amount of days in different provinces.

00:31:07.800 That's right.

00:31:08.100 Except for Yukon and Northwest Territories.

00:31:10.640 Those are the exceptions.

00:31:11.740 Now, we have some cases up in the far north, like just a few, and we're doing our best to

00:31:16.200 cover those?

00:31:16.860 We do.

00:31:17.720 We have a lawyer, Leighton Gray.

00:31:20.360 Oh, we know Leighton.

00:31:21.080 Yeah, he's amazing.

00:31:22.320 And he's senior counsel.

00:31:23.920 And not only is he senior counsel, he is Queen's counsel.

00:31:27.360 Oh, he's a QC.

00:31:28.200 That's pretty fancy.

00:31:28.700 That's a very prestigious designation.

00:31:31.140 So we're working on having him become a member of the Yukon and Northwest Territories bars.

00:31:35.400 Just to take these cases.

00:31:36.580 So he can take those cases.

00:31:38.080 Got it.

00:31:38.420 So all the provinces can, a lawyer can work in different provinces, but in those northern

00:31:43.920 territories, you have to apply.

00:31:45.320 You have to be a member of the bar.

00:31:46.740 And so Leighton Gray, who's based in Alberta, if I'm not mistaken, he's applying so that he

00:31:51.360 can represent our northern cases.

00:31:52.960 Mohamed El Rashidi, some people may know him from his CBC work.

00:31:56.800 He used to appear on CBC, so he's telegenic.

00:31:59.520 He's taking the criminal cases.

00:32:01.960 Tell us about some of the other interesting lawyers.

00:32:03.820 I think some of our viewers are familiar with Chad Williamson in Calgary.

00:32:07.180 He's a little bit of a cowboy.

00:32:08.680 Yes.

00:32:09.080 He's just great.

00:32:11.180 Just super innovative.

00:32:12.580 He's a fighter.

00:32:13.340 And it's just a pleasure working with him.

00:32:16.260 He's a hoot.

00:32:17.360 We have a whole law firm in Quebec that helps people in English or French.

00:32:22.800 And we set up a French language website, contestezlesconconvention.com, if I'm pronouncing

00:32:29.020 it right.

00:32:30.180 Terrible pronunciation.

00:32:31.580 How are they doing?

00:32:32.280 How many cases do we have in Quebec, approximately?

00:32:34.400 They have over 200 cases, and the law firm is called Ticket Aid.

00:32:40.120 Christina Mukari is taking care of most of our clients there. 0.67

00:32:43.800 She's an excellent lawyer. 0.98

00:32:45.060 I think they're doing well.

00:32:46.880 That province is difficult.

00:32:49.240 The prosecutors are very aggressive, and they're proceeding quickly.

00:32:54.660 So she's got a lot on her hands.

00:32:56.680 Isn't that interesting?

00:32:58.020 Yeah.

00:32:58.200 You know, I'm glad we've got a firm with some capacity.

00:33:01.120 Like, that firm is used to handling lots of clients, because normally they help with traffic

00:33:05.260 cases.

00:33:05.720 So they've got, they can do a lot of stuff.

00:33:08.500 I'm glad we've teamed up with them.

00:33:10.060 What's interesting is that a lot of the cases, there's a religious Jewish community in Montreal.

00:33:14.800 And for some reason, I would say some of it is just miscommunication.

00:33:19.480 But I think some of it, there's a little bit of animosity from the police towards this

00:33:23.460 community, because we have a friend there, Yankee Pollock, one of our staff, and they've

00:33:27.140 been really weird toward them.

00:33:28.540 They call them Jew media, and they've given Yankee a bunch of tickets. 0.80

00:33:32.920 So we've had members of that community.

00:33:35.940 And I actually did a video on Yiddish.

00:33:37.640 I don't know if I remember that.

00:33:38.680 Yeah, I know that.

00:33:39.120 So, but we help people all Francais.

00:33:41.760 Like, we help people who don't speak any English.

00:33:44.620 We help every Canadian of every background.

00:33:47.280 That's right.

00:33:47.780 In fact, I see the names.

00:33:49.080 There's a lot of new Canadians, a lot of minorities.

00:33:52.120 We really are helping people from every walk of life.

00:33:54.800 That's right.

00:33:55.260 But I don't think it's a matter of color or religion or even left or right.

00:33:59.580 It's a matter of civil liberties, and we don't discriminate.

00:34:02.920 I onboard any client that has a ticket.

00:34:06.260 So I don't even look at the merits of the case.

00:34:09.700 We fight every case that comes across our way.

00:34:12.560 And that's our style.

00:34:13.720 It's not called pay the fines.

00:34:15.860 It's not called settle the fines.

00:34:18.180 It's called fight the fines.

00:34:19.820 And I had a great chat with Mohamed El Rashidi.

00:34:22.060 And we may have some political differences, but we agreed we're both civil liberties people.

00:34:27.640 And I felt really good about that.

00:34:29.500 Leighton Gray, we know he loves civil liberties.

00:34:31.400 He's helped with some important matters already.

00:34:34.700 You just worked with a new lawyer representing our clients in New Brunswick.

00:34:41.160 Yes.

00:34:41.480 Because they've had a really brutal lockdown out there.

00:34:43.940 Tell us about the lawyer in New Brunswick.

00:34:46.440 I haven't met him yet, but you talked to him on the phone.

00:34:48.800 I did.

00:34:49.460 His name is Nathan Gorham.

00:34:51.540 He's a very experienced criminal lawyer, and he deals with very serious criminal offenses.

00:34:56.320 So I think we're very lucky to have him join us.

00:34:59.200 And you were saying he's a professor also?

00:35:00.820 He is.

00:35:01.700 Well, I mean, these are some serious counsel.

00:35:04.100 I mean, we have some youngsters, too, and that's great.

00:35:06.480 I like the young guys and gals.

00:35:08.020 They fight really hard.

00:35:10.700 Tell us about some.

00:35:11.580 I mean, I'm not asking you to list them on.

00:35:13.580 I'm just trying to keep track of them.

00:35:14.720 But I think it helps tell the story of what we've created.

00:35:18.780 And you've been the full-time, everyday, hands-on legal coordinator.

00:35:23.320 You've really built this.

00:35:24.400 I mean, we started with that one case of Arthur Pawlowski.

00:35:26.680 I would never have guessed that we would be sitting here with 1,834 cases now.

00:35:32.200 I think when I started with this project in January, I think we had 100 or maybe 150 clients.

00:35:38.540 And now we've had over 2,000 submissions.

00:35:41.720 And we've taken up to 1,834 clients.

00:35:46.280 And we still have more waiting in queue.

00:35:48.460 Now, every day I get these little emails, and I don't look at them closely because I know that you're taking care of them.

00:35:53.940 So we still get, what, 5 or 10 a day?

00:35:55.940 More than that.

00:35:57.040 That's a slow day.

00:35:58.240 I don't think we've ever had less than 10.

00:36:00.440 And some days up to 30.

00:36:02.380 But I would say 15 to 20 new clients daily is regular.

00:36:07.120 So you take them.

00:36:08.300 You work with our two paralegals.

00:36:09.720 In fact, one of those paralegals, Jenna, has been on some of the Fight the Fines cases. 1.00

00:36:14.440 I was looking, and we now have 166 little videos we've done.

00:36:19.040 And that sounds like a staggering number, but that's not even 1 out of 10.

00:36:22.900 Like, if we have 1,834 cases and only 166 videos, for every case we're telling you about, we're fighting 10 or 11 that we have in.

00:36:33.960 Now, I don't think we've had a full trial.

00:36:37.720 We haven't had a trial, but our successes have been withdrawals.

00:36:41.980 So just to explain for the lay people who may not be familiar with civil procedure or even criminal procedure,

00:36:48.320 some of these are, there's different kinds of offenses we're dealing with here.

00:36:52.580 Just because a cop gives a ticket doesn't mean anything other than that cop gave the ticket.

00:36:56.780 That's right.

00:36:57.220 It then, in most cases, goes to a prosecutor who would look at it and say,

00:37:06.100 I have a reasonable chance of conviction, and this is in the public interest.

00:37:11.360 And if those tests aren't met, the prosecutor does not have to proceed.

00:37:15.820 Is that right?

00:37:16.200 So we do try to settle this case and settle cases.

00:37:21.520 And by settle, we don't mean settle.

00:37:23.200 We mean get a matter withdrawn.

00:37:25.740 So this is the goal.

00:37:27.040 And if this doesn't happen at early stages, then it proceeds to trial if the client chooses to proceed.

00:37:32.580 Got it.

00:37:33.460 So, for example, the very first case, again, the one that got this whole thing started, April, we took him on, April 2020,

00:37:41.420 Arthur Pawlowski, I think it was a $1,200 ticket for feeding the homeless outside.

00:37:46.500 Just insane.

00:37:47.400 The police called that an illegal gathering.

00:37:49.620 They pushed Arthur's people around.

00:37:51.500 Frankly, he should have sued them.

00:37:53.040 That's just my own personal opinion.

00:37:55.300 So he got these crazy tickets.

00:37:58.200 The prosecutor looked at these.

00:37:59.740 And this was a case, I think, that Sarah Miller.

00:38:01.460 Yeah, Sarah Miller. 0.75

00:38:02.360 So the prosecutor said, I'm just not prosecuting this.

00:38:05.320 Yeah, and we see that all the time.

00:38:07.360 So I think it's a matter of fighting.

00:38:11.420 Sometimes you just show up with a lawyer and the other side said, oh, it's not going to be easy.

00:38:15.900 Yeah, it could be.

00:38:16.600 And there are also procedural irregularities and administrative errors that allow us to have these tickets withdrawn.

00:38:24.640 So before anything proceeds to trial, we try hard to find a way to have the tickets withdrawn.

00:38:32.660 And we have succeeded in many cases.

00:38:34.660 So I think you were telling me just before that we've had about 91 that are dealt with and 50 were withdrawn by the Crown when they were just presented with an irregularity.

00:38:44.840 Or the case was just so ridiculous, the cops should never have done that.

00:38:49.000 Yes.

00:38:49.400 Well, that's pretty good considering not a single trial.

00:38:51.660 Now, I don't want to give away any legal strategy, and we're not.

00:38:56.140 I haven't been briefed on any of the particular cases.

00:38:59.760 And we have probably 10 lawyers.

00:39:02.260 Probably more.

00:39:03.100 Probably more than 10 lawyers.

00:39:04.780 I mean, I've talked to a couple of them.

00:39:05.920 You know, they seem to be good guys and gals.

00:39:07.820 I don't think I'm giving anything away when I say that if our first tickets came aboard in April 2020, and it's now June 2021, time is passing.

00:39:19.420 And one of the constitutional protections we have in the Chart of Rights, but it predates that.

00:39:25.940 I mean, the right to a speedy trial, the right to a speedy trial, because as time passes, memories fade, evidence evanesces, and there's the stigma hanging over you.

00:39:38.740 There's the stress hanging over you.

00:39:40.040 You were charged with something, and it bothers you, and you think about it, and you're embarrassed by it, maybe, if someone else knows about it, and you're worried about it.

00:39:47.840 So there's a lot of good moral reasons why, if the government says you've done something wrong, well, then come to court and prove it.

00:39:55.400 And we're coming up on a year and a half now.

00:39:58.960 And I know that in Canada, a year and a half is that point where the judges say, this is the government, pandemic or not, you had a chance to move on this, and you just simply didn't.

00:40:09.760 Yes, and I think we are waiting to see how the courts are going to deal with this when they reopen.

00:40:14.560 In a lot of jurisdictions, there is a backlog, and then some, they don't have enough resources to prosecute these cases, and that's one of the reasons why many tickets are getting withdrawn.

00:40:26.620 So when courts reopen and matters come up for trial, it remains to be seen how they will deal with this matter of charter right to a trial within a reasonable time.

00:40:37.860 Yeah, it's very interesting. I think, here's my theory, and I think this is absolutely true, at least in some cases, that police are over-ticketing, and politicians like that because they want to scare everybody into compliance.

00:40:56.560 If someone is so scared that they pay their ticket, or so rich that they pay their ticket, well, that's just free money for the government.

00:41:05.460 And I think that in certain jurisdictions, they're just going to wipe out en masse.

00:41:12.780 It's like, I have no insight, I have no, I'm not looking into my crystal ball, but if you have thousands and thousands of tickets that are constitutionally dubious,

00:41:22.980 that were handed out just as some political war against people, it's probably served its purpose.

00:41:29.400 And do you really want to take a hundred prosecutors and a hundred courtrooms and say,

00:41:36.440 we're going to now litigate this at the cost of millions of dollars? I don't think, now some of the governments will, some are very punitive.

00:41:44.560 I think Manitoba and New Brunswick are the most punitive, is that right? And you were saying Quebec's aggressive?

00:41:48.420 I think so, yes. Yes, it remains to be seen, but it is my personal hope that this will happen, and I guess we'll see.

00:41:56.260 Yeah, and again, I have no inside knowledge on any of these things, nor do I know the particular legal strategy of any of our cases,

00:42:02.120 but I've observed that in the United Kingdom and Australia, tens of thousands of tickets were thrown out just because they were improper for some underlying reason.

00:42:12.780 So that's a reason I would say to anyone out there who's got a ticket, do not pay it. Don't pay it.

00:42:19.080 It's probably flawed. Even if it's not flawed, if the prosecution doesn't move, you may have the ticket thrown out for want of prosecution.

00:42:27.220 And finally, you just might win. What's the downside? So go to fightthefines.com.

00:42:33.200 We did some of these in the UK and Australia. We did a few dozen, but we've sort of wrapped things up in the UK

00:42:39.360 because there's not a lot of fines anymore. They've really eased the lockdown.

00:42:42.780 We still take a couple of cases in Australia, but again, same thing. They've really lifted the lockdown.

00:42:48.360 It's crazy. Canada has the strictest lockdowns, I think, in the world right now.

00:42:51.740 I think so. So it seems.

00:42:54.180 Yeah. Well, I want to say that we had, besides you and the paralegals, including Jenna, who's on TV for us sometimes,

00:43:03.460 that was an important thing to have that in-house.

00:43:06.200 Oh, yes. They're just wonderful. They're in-house. They're very senior paralegals, and they're doing amazing work.

00:43:14.660 Only yesterday, I was on the phone with Jenna, and she advised she got six tickets withdrawn.

00:43:22.080 That's incredible.

00:43:22.540 She's proceeding aggressively, and she's just wonderful to deal with.

00:43:26.520 And Caitlin is a very senior paralegal as well, and they're assisting us in Ontario.

00:43:32.120 I've had the pleasure of talking with both of those women, and they are very sharp, very clever.

00:43:38.680 In fact, when I first met Jenna, she had such a comprehensive knowledge.

00:43:44.520 I assumed she was a lawyer, because she has, I think, probably more actual working experience with the laws than most lawyers.

00:43:52.640 Yes, and she has developed strategies for dealing with the tickets en masse going forward.

00:43:58.680 She's a true believer also. I've seen some of her videos.

00:44:01.200 One of the things, besides having this in-house team that's made a difference, is the advent of the Democracy Fund.

00:44:10.320 And that's a registered CRA-compliant charity, one of whose missions is supporting civil liberties litigation.

00:44:19.040 And so for the last two months or so, any donations to the Fight the Fines project, they actually go directly to the Democracy Fund.

00:44:27.120 They don't even touch Rebel News. They just go straight over there.

00:44:31.200 And the Democracy Fund pays the lawyers. So all the money, there's no overhead of the Democracy Fund.

00:44:36.800 100% goes to lawyers. But the benefit is our donors get the tax credit.

00:44:42.720 So it depends on what province you're in. But if you give $100, maybe the only cost is $75 now, because you get $25 back at tax time.

00:44:50.720 If you give $1,000, the amount you keep is even larger. I don't want to guess offhand the exact amount. It's slightly different for every province.

00:44:58.720 But that has allowed people to give more than they normally would.

00:45:02.720 And what I say to folks is, look, it's a tax time. Would you rather give an extra $200 to Justin Trudeau or have that money go to Fight the Fines?

00:45:10.240 I mean, to me, it's a no-brainer. That said, if we have 1,834 cases, and we're getting 10 new ones a day, and you say it's even more sometimes.

00:45:22.240 Now, we've had 91 dealt with. So let's say we've got, I think you were telling me we have 1,743 cases that are still going on.

00:45:30.800 That's right.

00:45:31.440 1,743. But every day we're getting...

00:45:34.520 We're getting more people.

00:45:35.540 Yeah. And that's the thing. Like, some provinces, they're actually getting more brutal.

00:45:40.280 Yeah. And the number of this will proceed to trial. There is no question about it.

00:45:45.540 Yeah. Like all the criminal ones who go to trial.

00:45:47.640 Criminal and the tickets also. And I think that's the great thing about having this democracy fund. It is the burden.

00:45:55.120 I feel like we are really the official opposition in this country right now. And the government has almost unlimited resources. And what we have is the generosity of our donors.

00:46:06.100 Yeah.

00:46:06.860 And we have to be sure that we can pay our lawyers. And we don't want to stop. We want to keep taking on more clients.

00:46:13.440 I feel like we've already done a few important things. We've signaled to the world that not everyone's going along with this. We've given help to nearly 2,000 people.

00:46:23.800 We've got 91 folks out of this mess completely. We've shown prosecutors that they're going to be up against serious people, not just our paralegals, but, you know, Leighton Gray, QC, this new professor lawyer in New Brunswick, probably one of the top lawyers in New Brunswick.

00:46:43.140 So we're showing the government it's not going to be a cakewalk for them.

00:46:48.020 And I think we've given psychological stress relief to every one of these families.

00:46:53.960 Yes. And it's not just a matter of legal assistance. I think it's a matter of moral assistance.

00:46:59.260 I speak to people on the phone. I email with them and I see how stressed they are.

00:47:05.820 And I think just the fact that they're not alone helps them to go through this process because I'd say for the majority of these people, they've never had any contact with the justice system.

00:47:16.720 Like some of them probably never even got a parking ticket. So they're very stressed.

00:47:20.540 They don't know what's going on. And I guess I'm glad we're here to support them.

00:47:25.740 Yeah. I mean, that's on your part, that's a heavy burden for you to relieve the stress.

00:47:30.120 But on the other hand, what a pleasure in a way to say, hey, guys, it's going to be OK.

00:47:35.740 We've got a lawyer for you and you don't have to pay. So on the one hand, I wouldn't want your job because you're dealing with tough people, probably even some people crying.

00:47:45.320 No, I haven't had that. You haven't been crying. OK. No, actually, I did. I did. Yeah.

00:47:48.700 I mean, I'm not making fun. I'm just saying I know there's stress out there.

00:47:52.120 It's very stressful. So, I mean, I'm not built for that.

00:47:56.060 But but on the other hand, for you to be able to say we've got Leighton Gray, we've got Chad Williamson, we've got, you know, ticket aid, we've got like like that to be the person who say it's going to be OK.

00:48:10.480 But like you said so wisely earlier, it's our viewers who did this.

00:48:14.640 One of the things you and I talk about every few weeks is is the money.

00:48:18.360 Yeah. Because we don't want to make promises to clients that we can't keep and lawyers, they demand to be paid.

00:48:26.560 And I don't believe in pro bono lawyers. We've had this conversation before.

00:48:29.760 I think that you want an expert. And if there's some real estate lawyer, I'm sure he's very nice.

00:48:35.900 But if he says, I'll work pro bono. Well, you don't know criminal law. You're not an expert in these things.

00:48:40.960 Thank you so much for offering the help. But we actually need a pro like Mohammed Al Rashidi.

00:48:45.920 He's a criminal law pro. We want that.

00:48:49.400 Chad Williamson, he's a born litigator. So I believe in paying for lawyers. I know people are probably saying, oh, you're spending too much.

00:48:59.580 Well, we are spending money. But I have a motto. There's nothing more expensive than a cheap lawyer.

00:49:05.820 And if you have a lawyer that doesn't know what they're doing, it's a placebo. You're going to get in trouble.

00:49:12.260 So, I mean, our discussions and what I've observed and the people we brought aboard, these are serious lawyers who are going to win.

00:49:20.000 Or if they can't win, it's because the facts are impossible. The law is impossible. We are not sending in second raters. 0.99

00:49:27.140 No, they're all senior criminal counsel. They know what they're doing. And they're all extremely hardworking and dedicated people.

00:49:34.820 So we don't stop because it's, you know, it's a Saturday or a Sunday or it's an evening.

00:49:38.900 We're working around the clock. And in addition to this criminal lawyers in Ontario, for example, we have a team of extremely professional civil lawyers,

00:49:50.100 which is Amanda Armstrong and Nirmala Armstrong, who have actually recently succeeded on a number of closure orders against businesses.

00:49:58.060 So they've saved businesses from lockdowns. And you and I have been talking about a very special lawsuit they might start on behalf.

00:50:05.280 And we won't announce it now. We'll wait till everything's ready. A very special lawsuit on behalf of a class of people who have, we think, have been discriminated against under the lockdowns.

00:50:16.140 So I was looking at the very creative ideas from that. That's a mother-daughter team, right?

00:50:21.000 That's right.

00:50:21.460 That's pretty cool.

00:50:22.160 And Jenna Little is the one that came up with the idea. Together with a client, we have some really amazing clients.

00:50:28.300 Yeah, they're turning into fighters, aren't they?

00:50:30.060 They're just great.

00:50:30.940 Well, that's wonderful. I mean, and that's what I mean, to meet those people.

00:50:36.040 I mean, some of the people who are getting these tickets, they're just regular folks who stepped over a line.

00:50:42.320 Some of them are just sort of intransigent rabble-rousers. I would be under that category. 0.98

00:50:47.200 Our own staff, some of them got tickets.

00:50:49.280 Oh, yeah.

00:50:49.480 But some of them are just great people who are in extraordinary times, and they decided to show some courage and push back.

00:50:55.600 And we have met some wonderful people, people from different walks of life.

00:50:58.520 I mean, a year and a half ago, your typical Rebel News viewer, typical Rebel News fan, was probably different than today.

00:51:06.080 I think we've very much become a helper of the working class, helper.

00:51:10.760 I mean, when I think of who's been punished in the lockdown, I think waiters, waitresses, hairstylists, barbers, restaurateurs, like really working people.

00:51:20.040 I'm not talking about fancy people.

00:51:21.720 Well, like I said, we like people of all backgrounds, but who has been hurt?

00:51:24.300 And I feel like, I mean, we are a business, and the Democracy Funds a Charity, but I believe that what we're doing here is filling an important social vacuum left by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which has been absent without leave, left by opposition parties who are meek, who's helping people.

00:51:45.140 And I feel like the fight defines, I think, I mean, I love our friends at the Justice Center for Constitutes for Freedom, John Carpe, what a good guy.

00:51:51.900 He's one of our favorite people.

00:51:54.300 But I think with 1,834 cases, I think we are Canada's largest civil liberties organization.

00:52:00.120 I think without a question.

00:52:01.420 I mean, who could be bigger than that?

00:52:03.040 Yeah, this is a project of astounding scale.

00:52:06.380 Yeah, well, listen, so much of the credit goes to you, and I thank you for that hard work.

00:52:11.660 Let me close by saying what you and I talked about just the other day.

00:52:15.640 I said, how much money are we on the hook for?

00:52:20.200 I mean, don't say the number out loud.

00:52:21.920 But when you've got, well, if you add it all up, 15 or 20 lawyers at least, right?

00:52:29.840 Like Ticket Aid has several and all these, these are law firms, as you say.

00:52:33.240 Let's say we got 20 lawyers.

00:52:34.460 Some of these cases might only cost a grand to dispatch.

00:52:39.620 Some of them are going to cost 10 grand.

00:52:41.780 You got 1,834 clients and you're getting 10 more every day.

00:52:45.960 You're coming up on 2,000 pretty soon.

00:52:49.060 Even if you can resolve them for 1,000 bucks each, well, that's $2 million.

00:52:53.060 And this is not taking into consideration constitutional challenges, which we do plan to launch.

00:52:59.220 Yeah.

00:52:59.880 So here's what I said to you, and here's what I said at a staff meeting the other day.

00:53:04.460 I said, my job as president of Rebel is to make sure the company lives and everyone here, we can make payroll and stuff.

00:53:12.400 So I will never go so far down this road that we jeopardize Rebel News.

00:53:16.960 It would be irresponsible to do that, but it's also my job to get the dough.

00:53:24.600 So how do we do that?

00:53:27.480 I mean, I've made my own contribution to the Democracy Fund.

00:53:30.440 As a point of pride, I was one of the very first donors.

00:53:33.320 Someone beat me to it, but I was one of the very first.

00:53:36.560 But I do not want to stop just because we hit some arbitrary number of 2,000.

00:53:43.280 If more people need help, the idea of turning someone away is very unpleasant to me.

00:53:48.800 So what I've promised the world, I guess, is that I will keep on asking people to go to fightthefines.com and chip in as long as we have the need.

00:53:59.800 And the metaphor I use is like we're a lifeboat.

00:54:03.020 We started by bringing one guy into the lifeboat, Arthur Pawlowski, then another guy, then another, another, another, another.

00:54:10.440 Now there's 1,834 people in a lifeboat.

00:54:12.320 It's like a cruise ship.

00:54:13.220 And more waiting.

00:54:13.900 Yeah.

00:54:14.880 So as long as the lifeboat is strong enough, we'll keep bringing more.

00:54:19.720 But I don't want to sink the lifeboat.

00:54:21.520 If we get beyond our means, that would be in the metaphor sinking the lifeboat.

00:54:26.640 So I never want to sail away from anyone and say, sorry, no room in the lifeboat.

00:54:32.520 That would be very hard on my heart.

00:54:37.020 So I don't want to do that.

00:54:38.300 So the only other option is to keep raising money.

00:54:40.820 Because for the foreseeable future, there will be more tickets.

00:54:44.140 I don't see an end to tickets coming till the end of the year.

00:54:48.100 At least.

00:54:49.780 Yeah.

00:54:50.260 The variant for the long haul.

00:54:51.600 Because some of these cases, by the way, are going to keep on going for trial in 2022.

00:54:56.900 Yeah.

00:54:57.160 So even once our clients stop getting tickets, the court matters are going to proceed.

00:55:02.700 Yeah.

00:55:02.940 So it will take a long time to resolve.

00:55:05.700 Well, listen, I'm very proud of this.

00:55:07.460 I think this is one of the best things we've ever done at Rebel News.

00:55:10.200 It's certainly the biggest thing we've ever done.

00:55:12.520 To say that there's a $2 million liability here, I think, is fair.

00:55:19.460 We don't know because we don't know how far and how hard.

00:55:23.480 I mean, if all these were dropped tomorrow, we'd be done.

00:55:25.580 That's not going to happen.

00:55:27.200 Can we get some provinces to drop them?

00:55:30.340 Can we expect, you know, some of them to be timed out?

00:55:33.960 Yes, we can.

00:55:34.720 How much?

00:55:35.300 I don't know.

00:55:35.920 How aggressive the prosecutor is going to be?

00:55:37.980 We don't know.

00:55:38.800 Some of the provinces, they're going to be very aggressive to make a point.

00:55:42.060 So if all this came due and if we owed $2 million today, we don't have that.

00:55:51.440 But we have time.

00:55:53.260 And we raise money every day at fightthefines.com.

00:55:57.160 And I say again, and I think this is important to note, not $1 from fightthefines.com goes to Rebel News.

00:56:03.580 It all goes to the Democracy Fund.

00:56:06.160 And there's no overhead there.

00:56:07.880 It's just 100% paid.

00:56:09.560 And I think we push back on lawyers and we negotiate with them.

00:56:13.020 And I think we're attentive to keeping the price down.

00:56:15.640 I think so.

00:56:16.600 And we've negotiated bulk fees with lawyers to make sure that they're compensated properly while this project still makes sense financially.

00:56:23.760 And I'll say it.

00:56:24.420 In one case, we took a lawyer to an assessment because we thought the bills were too high.

00:56:28.100 And I say that only to say that we are treating the money very carefully.

00:56:35.380 Even though it's not our money, we want it to be spent on this real project.

00:56:40.240 So, anyhow, that's the big update.

00:56:42.240 Victoria, it's great to sit down with you and thank you for all your anecdotes and your survey of the project.

00:56:48.460 It's a huge project.

00:56:49.560 I'm very proud of you and our paralegals.

00:56:51.700 I think you're doing a great job.

00:56:53.780 I think the job is not done.

00:56:58.100 Oh, no.

00:56:58.900 In fact, in some ways, it's just getting started.

00:57:00.900 These are just all onboarded.

00:57:02.920 We may have 1,000 trials in the future.

00:57:06.060 And if so, we're going to rely on our viewers because I do not want to put a full sign, a no vacancy sign on the lifeboat.

00:57:14.740 I want as long as possible to take more cases.

00:57:18.180 Last word to you, before we came on today, we were talking about if you had any tips for viewers about how to apply for fight the fines.

00:57:27.280 There are a few things you think that maybe if there's someone who, if you had some advice for people who need help, what would your advice be?

00:57:33.500 Yeah.

00:57:33.960 So, first, if you intend to fight your fine, I would encourage you to contest it within the deadline set out on the ticket.

00:57:44.460 And the instructions for fighting, for launching those disputes are on the ticket as well.

00:57:52.080 Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to dispute these tickets for clients in first instance.

00:57:58.280 So, once you get court dates, our lawyers will take over.

00:58:01.960 But we need the clients to dispute the fines to make sure that the deadlines are not missed.

00:58:06.760 And that's the easiest thing to do.

00:58:08.080 You just sort of write in and say, I dispute, like you mark an X and you sign it.

00:58:11.520 So, either you call the court or you fill out a form on a website provided on the ticket.

00:58:17.520 Right.

00:58:17.800 And then from there, we take over.

00:58:20.420 So, it's that very first thing.

00:58:22.000 And that's actually the easiest thing.

00:58:24.000 So, it's not, you know, it sounds complicated, but it's just X, I will fight this.

00:58:30.600 And just because we may not be able to move quickly enough, because you have only a certain period of time, right?

00:58:37.300 And it's very important.

00:58:38.500 It's sort of like, hurry up and then wait.

00:58:41.280 So, it's very important not to miss those initial deadlines.

00:58:44.700 But once you dispute a fine, it may take six months to a year to even get a court date, if at all.

00:58:51.000 And in the meantime, the stress is on us.

00:58:53.840 Okay, so that's one piece of advice.

00:58:54.960 Do you have any other advice?

00:58:55.920 Yes, so that's one.

00:58:58.100 Secondly, we communicate with our clients mainly by email.

00:59:01.660 And we've been finding that a lot of those emails go in people's junk folder or spam folder.

00:59:07.780 And then they panic because they feel that they haven't heard back from a lawyer.

00:59:10.800 So, it's very important for clients to check their phone and check their email, all folders, and to be in constant communication with us so that we could keep you informed and receive instructions.

00:59:23.060 Also, I find that a number of clients sign our form, sign up online by filling out our form multiple times.

00:59:34.880 And I understand why they do this.

00:59:36.740 I'm sure they're stressed and they feel that they haven't heard from us quickly enough.

00:59:40.120 But, unfortunately, it creates an administrative backlog on our end, which we need to clear.

00:59:47.420 So, if you fill out an application, we will have it.

00:59:51.300 And there is no need to sign up multiple times because it just adds to the work on our side.

00:59:56.740 Yeah, I bet that people are stressed.

00:59:58.360 Yeah, I completely understand that.

01:00:00.580 Well, listen, those are good practical tips for folks who need help.

01:00:03.780 But just the instructions are there at fightthefinest.com.

01:00:06.700 And you and I talked about maybe one little tweak we'll make to things to make it a little easier to understand.

01:00:12.240 The purpose of this video, Victoria, is twofold.

01:00:15.800 Number one, to give people a report, to tell them the magnitude of the work that has been done.

01:00:20.660 Because I think it's surprising even to me.

01:00:22.880 When you said 1,834, I was sort of shocked because the last real update I had for me, we were at 1,200.

01:00:28.780 Yeah, I think we got so busy that I got just boggled down and sending clients to lawyers and resolving matters and fighting fires.

01:00:36.800 That when we did the count, yeah, it was surprising that we were almost at 2,000 people.

01:00:41.700 That's crazy.

01:00:42.320 So, the first purpose of today's video is to give people as much of an update as we can without getting into individual cases.

01:00:49.720 The second thing is for me to tell folks, I love this and we're okay financially for this.

01:00:56.260 And by we, it's a pot of money at the Democracy Fund.

01:00:59.440 It's not Rebel News money.

01:01:01.820 I will, at a certain point, put up the no vacancy sign on this project.

01:01:06.600 I just will because we don't, using the lifeboat metaphor, I'm not going to sink the whole lifeboat to take one more person on.

01:01:14.580 But I want that day to be as far into the future as possible.

01:01:19.620 So, I am asking our viewers, if they love this project, if they think it's important on a micro level to save an individual family or a macro level to help save the country, frankly, please go to fightthefines.com.

01:01:33.440 You will get a charity receipt.

01:01:34.680 You can make a $10,000 donation, $10,000, if that's your ability.

01:01:40.560 And you'll get a very large tax credit for that.

01:01:43.400 I'm just saying that because I hope someone's considering that.

01:01:47.200 You've seen the quality of Victoria.

01:01:49.240 We've described the quality of many of our lawyers.

01:01:51.560 You've seen them in the 166 Fight the Fines videos we've made so far.

01:01:56.680 I think we're making a difference.

01:01:58.260 And as long as you're there, you are the source of the funds and the resources and the energy that we're helping 1,800-plus people.

01:02:07.060 So, please keep it up.

01:02:08.780 And when, I guess, Victoria, when people say, all right, that's enough, then we'll say that's enough.

01:02:13.620 But we won't quit one second before they do.

01:02:16.260 No, I'm here for the long run.

01:02:17.960 Right on.

01:02:18.420 Well, Victoria, great work.

01:02:19.460 Thank you.

01:02:19.880 Keep it up.

01:02:20.440 Thank you.

01:02:21.000 Well, there you have it, folks.

01:02:22.700 A full show on our fightthefines.com project.

01:02:25.420 One of the proudest things I think we've ever done.

01:02:27.580 And at Rebel News, Victoria's great, isn't she?

01:02:30.700 And she's built this whole team, really built a national law firm in a few months.

01:02:34.900 So, that's the show for today.

01:02:36.100 Until next time, on behalf of all of us here at Rebel World Headquarters, see you at home.

01:02:40.400 Good night.

01:02:41.180 Thank you.

01:02:41.420 And keep fighting for free.

01:02:42.420 Thank you.

Rebel News Podcast - June 23, 2021

EZRA LEVANT ｜ Update! We now have more than 1,800 Fight The Fines clients

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