Rebel News Podcast - Four Acts of Government Censorship in Four Days

00:00:00.000 One of my rebels, four acts of censorship have been committed against us in four days.

00:00:04.380 You probably know about the first one, when I was slapped with two fines totaling $3,000

00:00:09.840 for publishing the book The Libranos.

00:00:11.800 Well, I've got three other stories for you today.

00:00:14.200 I don't think it's a coincidence.

00:00:15.700 I think the era of censorship is upon us, and I think given that we're the most independent

00:00:20.560 media in the country, they're coming for us first.

00:00:23.060 So I'll tell you about that today.

00:00:24.880 Before I do, let me invite you to become a premium subscriber to what we call Rebel News

00:00:29.720 Plus.

00:00:31.620 So it's this podcast plus the video version of it.

00:00:36.180 It's just $8 a month, which is, what, half of Netflix.

00:00:38.960 You also get shows by Sheila Gunn-Reed, David Menzies, and now Andrew Chapados.

00:00:42.860 So I think there's a lot of value in it, and believe me, it makes a difference here, because

00:00:47.100 that $8 a month, that helps pay our bills.

00:00:50.080 We don't take a dime from Justin Trudeau.

00:00:52.260 Okay, here's today's podcast.

00:00:59.720 Tonight, four acts of government censorship in four days.

00:01:12.740 It's January 25th, and this is the Ezra LeVant Show.

00:01:15.920 Last week, I told you about my two convictions for publishing my best-selling book called The

00:01:42.780 Libranos.

00:01:43.640 That was back in 2019.

00:01:46.020 It's already 2021.

00:01:48.300 Government censorship, the one good thing you can say about it is it's slow as a turtle.

00:01:53.740 That said, it was outrageous.

00:01:56.100 A secret trial we weren't even invited to.

00:01:59.080 To this day, the complaint itself is secret.

00:02:02.220 I've never seen it.

00:02:03.680 Neither do I know who the complainant is.

00:02:05.900 It's a $3,000 fine for publishing the book and the promotion of the book because it compares

00:02:12.760 Trudeau to Tony Soprano from the old TV show The Sopranos that was specifically mentioned

00:02:18.900 in the violations.

00:02:20.500 However, Section 2 of the Canada Elections Act exempts books, and not just books, the

00:02:27.140 promotion of books.

00:02:28.620 You can advertise a book in any way you like.

00:02:31.420 It's simply not covered by the election spending laws.

00:02:36.040 We're going to fight it.

00:02:36.880 Normally, a rational person would grumble and pay $3,000 because appealing that will certainly

00:02:42.920 cost more.

00:02:44.100 A constitutional challenge, I hate to say it, it's probably going to cost $100,000.

00:02:48.400 But we have to fight it, don't you think?

00:02:50.400 Because if we don't, who will?

00:02:53.600 Now, that was bad.

00:02:55.580 I've already told you that whole story.

00:02:57.260 But since then, three more acts of censorship have been done to us.

00:03:04.940 They're all targeted at us.

00:03:07.160 Now, I prefer to talk about the world.

00:03:09.400 I prefer to talk about common themes, things that happen in Canada and the United States,

00:03:15.220 around the world.

00:03:16.280 I don't just want to talk about rebel news, but I suppose it's the fact that because we

00:03:20.880 are the leading edge of civil liberties battles, free speech battles, we ourselves are going

00:03:26.540 to become the news when the government starts to censor.

00:03:29.680 And indeed, it does.

00:03:30.740 The same day that I got those two convictions from the elections commissioner of Trudeau,

00:03:37.680 I received a threat letter from Doug Ford's attorney general here in Ontario, the so-called

00:03:44.620 conservative government.

00:03:46.360 It was a threat, bizarrely, to prosecute us for our fightthefines.com project.

00:03:56.420 You know what we do?

00:03:57.240 We crowdfund lawyers to defend people who got pandemic fines, lockdown fines.

00:04:02.360 It's very successful, not just here in Canada, but it's something we've exported to the United 0.74

00:04:06.560 Kingdom and to Australia, too.

00:04:08.140 I think it's irritated a lot of politicians because they want to just steamroller over

00:04:14.700 the little people who can't afford the lawyers.

00:04:17.020 And like I said with the book, $3,000 is a lot easier to pay than fighting a $3,000 fine

00:04:23.900 with $100,000.

00:04:25.460 We are providing a sort of equalizer to the little people that Doug Ford used to care about.

00:04:31.720 Well, we got this threat letter over our use of a stock image of a police officer's vest.

00:04:40.460 There was no face in the photo.

00:04:42.240 It was just a vest that said, police, this image here.

00:04:45.080 And they were threatening to sue us, saying that it was a violation of privacy of that officer,

00:04:51.600 that it was...

00:04:52.660 I'll get into more details in the days ahead.

00:04:55.840 Just completely made-up things.

00:04:58.060 I got on the phone with the lawyers, and it was worse than I thought.

00:05:03.820 I gave them until tonight to call off their dogs.

00:05:08.140 Now, I haven't heard back.

00:05:09.940 I will give you the full story later.

00:05:12.040 It was a threat.

00:05:13.560 It was a fake.

00:05:15.220 It was intimidation.

00:05:17.320 They messed with the wrong media company.

00:05:19.580 But it's a sign that governments are growing bolder, threatening us, not for anything we did,

00:05:25.200 but for the fact that we're daring to stick up for other people who got pandemic fines.

00:05:30.160 And the story they made, I'll get into that later.

00:05:32.800 I'm not trying to tease you.

00:05:33.680 I'm just saying that was the second thing on that same day.

00:05:37.060 The first was two convictions and violations from Trudeau's elections commissioner,

00:05:42.600 and the second is from Doug Ford's attorney general.

00:05:46.100 And today was the deadline.

00:05:47.280 I asked them to retract and apologize.

00:05:49.160 They did not.

00:05:50.100 So I'll tell you more about that in the days ahead.

00:05:51.940 Now, I thought that was a busy week.

00:05:55.860 That's not the end of it.

00:05:57.900 Kian Bexty, our reporter based in Calgary, who's done some of our most exciting stories.

00:06:02.900 You might recall a few weeks ago, he broke a story on Canada's armed forces.

00:06:08.840 About 150 Canadian soldiers went over to Wuhan, China in the fall of 2019.

00:06:17.880 Well, Wuhan, as you know, is where the coronavirus came from, COVID-19.

00:06:21.240 And the fall of 2019, well, that's why they call it COVID-19.

00:06:26.340 Canada sent 150 plus soldiers as coaches and athletes in the world military games.

00:06:33.840 It was outrageous that we sent them at all.

00:06:36.380 Trudeau did it secretly, no PR.

00:06:38.380 We had to learn about it from the Chinese.

00:06:40.740 This was done after the two Michaels were taken hostage by China.

00:06:44.860 It's one of the things that was a cause of discord of the Canadian armed forces

00:06:49.060 in the China files we revealed.

00:06:50.740 Anyways, Kian had a scoop.

00:06:54.100 One of the soldiers who was on that trip talked to Kian about how so many soldiers got sick

00:07:01.600 and how the Canadian armed forces tried to cover it up.

00:07:05.760 Well, Kian did his story.

00:07:07.640 It did very well.

00:07:08.480 And then suddenly he got a knock on his door at his home from two of Trudeau's RCMP.

00:07:17.340 Here, take a look at that.

00:07:18.280 Hey, Mr. Rex.

00:07:22.240 Sorry, who is this?

00:07:23.200 I'm with the RCMP, Constable Wiley.

00:07:25.160 What for?

00:07:25.720 I'm with the federal, we're with the federal unit here in Calgary.

00:07:28.360 And this is Corporal Joway.

00:07:30.300 Thank you.

00:07:32.740 What's going on?

00:07:34.320 Is it okay if we step in for a quick conversation for two seconds?

00:07:36.840 No.

00:07:38.060 Okay.

00:07:38.400 No, that's fine.

00:07:38.920 We can talk about it.

00:07:40.380 Are you willing to speak with us?

00:07:42.380 What's this regarding?

00:07:43.660 Just in regards to, so we've been asked to come here and speak with you today, okay?

00:07:47.900 And like I said, we're with the RCMP here in Calgary.

00:07:50.380 Do you mind if I record this conversation?

00:07:52.300 We prefer if it's private.

00:07:53.280 We're not recording anything.

00:07:54.700 Just because we want to chat with you.

00:07:55.940 Yeah.

00:07:56.920 About what, though?

00:07:57.800 What's this regarding?

00:07:58.240 I'll explain it, okay?

00:07:59.240 Well, we prefer if it wasn't recorded.

00:08:00.720 Well, I mean, I have to.

00:08:02.240 Okay.

00:08:03.540 So it's in regards to a tweet that was sent out January 8th.

00:08:05.900 Do you know which one I'm referring to?

00:08:06.980 No.

00:08:11.900 Does that look from there?

00:08:13.180 It looks a little dark here.

00:08:16.240 I don't know why they are.

00:08:20.440 Do you see that?

00:08:21.840 Just in regards to the sensitive material.

00:08:24.240 Sure.

00:08:24.900 Okay.

00:08:27.180 Is it, do you want to say, is it text?

00:08:28.900 Texting.

00:08:29.600 Texting, okay.

00:08:32.540 So that's why we've been asked.

00:08:33.720 It was basically the public notified the RCMP about this tweet.

00:08:37.700 So that's why we were asked to come here and talk to you today, okay?

00:08:39.980 Sure.

00:08:40.120 So just wanted to let you know that we reviewed the items that you had put out there, and there's

00:08:46.780 no issues with any of that, okay?

00:08:48.320 We're not worried about materials that's non-classified, okay?

00:08:52.820 What it really comes down to, we've just been asked to come here, just because of some

00:08:59.480 of the nature of the text, that it was sensitive material, potentially.

00:09:02.400 Sure.

00:09:02.680 Obviously, some citizens saw it, and they linked us, so we've been asked to come here

00:09:06.500 just as a professional, friendly reminder.

00:09:08.860 I know in a journalistic job, we meet with people, sources, exchange information, I get

00:09:14.340 all that.

00:09:14.960 Yeah.

00:09:15.080 So it's just to be cognizant that if you do come into sometimes a classified or sensitive

00:09:19.320 material, just be aware that that possession or acquisition or distribution could be an

00:09:24.020 offense.

00:09:24.820 Mm-hmm.

00:09:25.280 So I don't know if you're familiar with the SOIA, Security of Information Act.

00:09:28.480 Mm-hmm.

00:09:29.800 That's mainly what would deal with this.

00:09:31.580 I'm not an expert on it.

00:09:32.900 You can Google it, and it'll give you kind of a summary of what it is.

00:09:35.280 Sure.

00:09:35.540 And even kind of like a, it'll help explain kind of what might be classified or sensitive.

00:09:40.760 So that's all.

00:09:41.640 We're just doing our job.

00:09:43.040 Yeah, I appreciate that.

00:09:43.900 We were just told to just come give you a friendly reminder.

00:09:45.840 If you do come and be aware, it's for your own protection as well.

00:09:48.300 Yeah.

00:09:48.900 Can you tell me who told you to come here?

00:09:50.940 Was it like your superiors in Calgary or in Ottawa?

00:09:54.560 Well, on behalf of the RCMP, our bosses.

00:09:57.220 Obviously, you know, our main bosses go all the way up to Ottawa.

00:10:00.500 But we're from, just from the local unit here in Calgary.

00:10:03.180 We're based out of Calgary.

00:10:04.120 Yeah.

00:10:04.360 So that's all it was.

00:10:05.980 Any questions about that?

00:10:07.580 Yeah.

00:10:07.760 Would I be able to get a copy of that tweet that you, could I have that page?

00:10:11.660 No, but it's on open source.

00:10:14.140 You can find it.

00:10:14.940 It's under your own at real keen and becks.

00:10:16.980 Yeah.

00:10:17.520 So that's exactly where we got it from.

00:10:19.780 Okay.

00:10:20.620 All right.

00:10:21.140 Did I break any laws?

00:10:22.580 No.

00:10:23.420 We're not concerned.

00:10:25.780 I believe that you're referencing kind of that military COVID release.

00:10:29.740 Yeah.

00:10:30.100 There's no issue with that.

00:10:31.420 It's just kind of how it started through the tweet.

00:10:34.680 People got concerned.

00:10:37.040 Shared it with our kind of social media and it made its way up.

00:10:39.320 And here we are.

00:10:40.280 So that's all it is.

00:10:41.360 It's just to be cognizant that if you ever come into that, maybe a real stuff from a source

00:10:45.140 or someone providing it to you, that could be an issue.

00:10:48.140 And that's all it is.

00:10:48.880 Okay.

00:10:49.820 Okay.

00:10:50.140 Great.

00:10:50.600 Thanks.

00:10:50.800 Huh.

00:10:51.380 So the week hadn't even ended and we got Trudeau's election commissioner slapping us with $3,000

00:10:56.160 worth of fines.

00:10:57.240 We got Doug Ford's attorney general threatening us if we don't stop showing a police vest in

00:11:03.620 our fight the fines promo.

00:11:05.020 And then we have two of Trudeau's RCMP officers intimidating or trying to intimidate one of

00:11:11.300 our reporters at his house.

00:11:13.940 Well, then the weekend came and a team of our rebel reporters went down to Toronto where

00:11:19.680 every weekend there's a large protest against the lockdowns.

00:11:23.760 Our guys go there all the time.

00:11:25.440 They're actually fairly well known.

00:11:27.740 David Menzies in his signature hat, Efron, Monsanto, Mocha Beziergan.

00:11:34.820 Our team, it's very, it's fun.

00:11:36.880 They go out there not to protest, but to report on the protests and they're wearing their badges.

00:11:43.820 Well, incredibly, our reporters, maybe it's not incredible anymore, it should be, they were

00:11:50.640 physically shoved by police.

00:11:53.540 Take a look at this.

00:11:54.260 Freedom!

00:11:55.100 That was Efron, our head of video.

00:12:17.380 I want to show you that from one more angle.

00:12:19.380 Just to be clear, Efron was not protesting.

00:12:21.980 Efron was not in the way of any cop, was not obstructing anything, but because he was filming

00:12:28.120 the cops, beat up some lockdown protesters, they physically pushed him away.

00:12:33.860 Another shot of that.

00:12:34.560 Our other cameraman, Mocha, has been going every week.

00:13:03.000 Here's a shot of him being pushed around similarly, too.

00:13:06.580 Good for you, you're standing.

00:13:09.140 This is a point in history.

00:13:11.820 Well, we growl about this and we send messages on Twitter directly to the Toronto Police Operations

00:13:18.920 Department saying, don't you touch our people.

00:13:21.520 So there was a new line that the police trotted out this weekend saying, we're not real journalists

00:13:29.160 like the other guys.

00:13:30.040 Look at this craziness.

00:13:31.200 The media is exempt, but it's like CP24 and stuff like that, right?

00:13:37.080 What's the difference between me and CP24?

00:13:39.580 I'm not sure.

00:13:40.380 You just got to keep moving, right?

00:13:42.080 That's all you got to do.

00:13:42.880 What's the difference between me and CP24?

00:13:44.820 I'm not sure what your company is.

00:13:47.120 If you're not sure, then why are you making assumptions then?

00:13:48.660 You just got to move.

00:13:49.580 Everybody's got to move.

00:13:50.320 That's it.

00:13:50.760 Go ahead and go tell CP24.

00:13:52.460 You just got to move, sir.

00:13:53.580 We're cautioning you right now, right?

00:13:55.020 We're cautioning you.

00:13:55.540 We're cautioning everybody.

00:13:56.400 Yeah, no.

00:13:58.220 In a police state, the police get to determine who is or isn't an official broadcaster.

00:14:04.700 Not in Canada.

00:14:06.100 But the crazy thing is, while they were saying to us we weren't real journalists, they spoke

00:14:11.220 to an established legacy media in Toronto called City News and said they're banned too.

00:14:17.260 Take a look at this.

00:14:18.780 Essentially, it's that media at this point in time, there's not essential service rate

00:14:22.660 in the square.

00:14:23.460 So we can't have you come and gather and stay for a while and loiter unless you're

00:14:27.420 out for an essential reason, which is grocery shopping, going to the doctor, things along

00:14:30.440 those lines.

00:14:30.560 So you're telling me media is not essential service?

00:14:32.440 That is, under information that I was provided that I'm acting on today, that's the information

00:14:35.960 that I was given.

00:14:36.660 So I'm not allowed in the square right now?

00:14:38.360 Yes, sir.

00:14:40.180 When did that become a thing?

00:14:41.260 So just for my own identification.

00:14:42.780 I can't tell you the exact date that that started or anything like that.

00:14:45.800 I'm just telling you on the information that I've provided and that I'm acting on today

00:14:48.960 is not the information I was given, okay?

00:14:50.360 Can I have your name and badge number up there?

00:14:51.680 Yep.

00:14:51.960 You can see my name right there.

00:14:53.160 Can I just get a quick close-up of it there, if you don't mind?

00:14:55.180 Yeah, there you go.

00:14:55.860 There you go.

00:14:56.260 Okay, so you're telling me I have to leave the square?

00:14:58.020 What happens if I don't leave the square?

00:14:59.420 Then I will be giving you the ticket, okay?

00:15:01.880 Okay.

00:15:02.420 All right?

00:15:02.800 So I'm cautioning you right now and I'm giving you the opportunity to leave on your own admission

00:15:05.780 or you will be fined, okay?

00:15:08.200 Yeah, that's not a thing.

00:15:10.980 I just want to let you know the Constitution does not have a pandemic exemption clause in it.

00:15:16.320 The Charter of Rights is not suspended during this so-called emergency.

00:15:20.820 It still applies.

00:15:22.080 And a police officer simply waving a wand and saying, you are not essential, that's not even a thing.

00:15:28.500 Now, Mocha, our cameraman, tweeted some pictures of police, some video of police engaging in assaults

00:15:35.780 and lying about reporters being banned.

00:15:38.480 And look at that.

00:15:38.980 The Toronto Police Operations Centre tweeted back saying, oh, it was just all a misunderstanding.

00:15:44.680 Hey, guys, just a misunderstanding the way we roughed you up.

00:15:49.000 And we've taken care of it, so no problems.

00:15:51.740 Of course, nothing's being taken care of.

00:15:53.400 They didn't even have the courtesy or the politeness to tell Mocha and Efron that the police were wrong to push them around.

00:16:02.380 I think we're in tough times.

00:16:05.680 Four days, four acts of censorship.

00:16:10.320 One, a conviction for a trial I wasn't invited to.

00:16:13.660 Two, a threat by the Provincial Attorney General.

00:16:17.340 Third, cops showing up at a reporter's home.

00:16:20.440 And fourth, the Toronto Police pushing and threatening to arrest our reporters for reporting on a peaceful protest.

00:16:28.020 I want to tell you, we did not seek any of this out.

00:16:30.160 We did not.

00:16:30.660 It was brought to us, done to us, because of our journalism.

00:16:35.020 Imagine how conflicted and corrupted the mainstream media must be that they don't have this happen to them

00:16:40.700 because they're so obedient, they don't provoke anything.

00:16:43.760 Even City News, when they were told to scram, they did scram,

00:16:48.460 and their mighty company called Rogers didn't do a bloody thing with it.

00:16:53.300 My friends, sometimes I feel like we're alone for censorship acts in four days.

00:16:58.920 We all are alone, except we have you.

00:17:04.960 Stay with us for a moment.

00:17:06.040 Welcome back.

00:17:18.180 Well, about a month or so ago, the biggest battle in Toronto, well, it was actually the gangland shootings.

00:17:26.080 Shootings in Toronto have tripled under the watchful eye of Mayor John Tory, 1.00

00:17:30.260 but the big police operation was against a barbecue joint called Adamson's Barbecue.

00:17:36.220 As you know, over 100 police, 50 police cars, and it turns out six riot horses were deployed to that big, bad barbecue joint.

00:17:46.780 Well, something's brewing in the small central Alberta town of Mirror.

00:17:52.920 That's the name of the town.

00:17:54.820 So far, no riot cops, but Trudeau's RCMP have been by repeatedly because a little cafe,

00:18:03.340 a diner really, called the Whistle Stop Cafe,

00:18:06.060 has opened to the massive support of the little town.

00:18:11.200 People are sick of the lockdown.

00:18:13.920 They're going there to meet each other, to see each other, to live a normal life,

00:18:18.500 and to have some good diner food.

00:18:20.480 Well, our friend and chief reporter, Sheila Gunn-Reed,

00:18:24.000 joins us now via Skype from the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror, Alberta.

00:18:29.340 How's it going there, Sheila?

00:18:31.600 It's great.

00:18:32.600 My Skype connection might be a little bit slow,

00:18:35.160 and it might be a little noisy because it's a lunch rush,

00:18:37.780 and this place is packed again.

00:18:39.240 But I'm here in Mirror just to make sure that if the police or Alberta Health Services

00:18:47.580 come to drop the hammer on this little restaurant,

00:18:52.060 that they won't be able to do it in anonymity.

00:18:55.140 I'm going to be here to capture everything.

00:18:57.380 Well, I'm so glad to hear it.

00:18:58.580 You know, Toronto is the biggest city in Canada.

00:19:01.920 The greater Toronto area, which is a lot of little towns and cities,

00:19:06.300 they say it's six and a half million souls.

00:19:09.840 Last time I checked, I think Mirror has just over 500.

00:19:13.560 So it's the kind of place where everybody knows each other.

00:19:16.920 And I think there's a level of trust in small towns.

00:19:19.920 And if these folks want to come to the Whistle Stop Cafe,

00:19:23.500 they know what they're doing.

00:19:25.020 They know who they're meeting with.

00:19:27.140 They know everyone.

00:19:28.220 You know, you're probably the only stranger in there today,

00:19:32.200 and you're not a stranger anymore because you've been visiting them.

00:19:34.880 My point is, everyone there knows what's going on, knows the risks.

00:19:39.900 And if they want to take them, they're sort of sick of the BS and the lockdowns.

00:19:44.100 Yeah.

00:19:44.580 Yeah.

00:19:44.920 I wonder if this would turn into the Adamson's Barbecue of the Prairies.

00:19:51.860 I think the problem in Toronto is the mayor thought,

00:19:54.920 well, he's challenging my primacy.

00:19:57.100 I'm the alpha male. 0.98

00:19:58.460 I must crush this man.

00:20:00.680 In Little Mirror, Alberta, you'd have to go out of town to get 100 cops, 0.97

00:20:06.280 50 cars and six ride horses, right?

00:20:08.240 Yes.

00:20:10.040 I think the closest RCMP detachment is about 20 kilometres up the road.

00:20:15.140 I think they maybe have 10 cops.

00:20:18.240 Maybe.

00:20:18.740 I think I could even be exaggerating that work at that detachment.

00:20:22.380 They've got a lot of better things to do in small town Alberta

00:20:26.180 than to crack down on an illegal burger here in Mirror.

00:20:30.620 Rural crime is out of control because of the bad economy,

00:20:34.660 and police are really too busy to be the enforcement arm

00:20:40.200 of the Alberta Health Services bureaucrats that want this place closed.

00:20:47.500 Now, you said illegal burger a moment ago.

00:20:51.120 I want to tell you, I've started a campaign called No Burger is Illegal.

00:20:57.100 I'm joking around.

00:20:58.460 Earlier today, you were telling me about the menu there.

00:21:01.240 I would like to make an invitation.

00:21:03.200 I have no authority to do this.

00:21:05.840 I have not spoken to the Whistle Stop Cafe,

00:21:09.020 but I bet they would be happy for folks in the surrounding areas

00:21:12.620 to come by and get a slice of pie.

00:21:14.580 You told me they had some berry pie.

00:21:16.420 I think you said apple pie.

00:21:18.380 You said they got some soup, burgers, fries, obviously, breakfast food.

00:21:23.280 Like, this is just a typical small town diner experience.

00:21:26.180 I was very hungry when you were describing it to me on the phone.

00:21:29.240 And Mirror, it's just east of Lacombe, if I'm not mistaken.

00:21:33.360 So it's a little bit north.

00:21:34.940 Am I right?

00:21:35.420 That's northeast of Redye.

00:21:36.700 So if you're in central Alberta, why not go for a drive?

00:21:39.620 What else you got to do, right?

00:21:41.680 Right.

00:21:42.000 And it's right off Highway 21.

00:21:43.920 It is right along the side of Highway 21.

00:21:46.460 It's very easy to get to, but make sure you've left yourself a little bit of time

00:21:52.580 if you are coming, because this place has been busy since they opened.

00:21:57.340 From morning till night, people are coming from Calgary.

00:22:00.280 People are coming from Edmonton.

00:22:02.260 People who are not able to sit in and have a sit-down meal,

00:22:06.740 they're placing takeout orders to go.

00:22:08.960 And sometimes those takeout orders, people have to wait two hours for them

00:22:13.140 because they are just so busy.

00:22:16.420 While I was here this morning, one of the local ranchers came and dropped off some beef.

00:22:22.200 They have a beef company.

00:22:24.620 And they knew that Chris, the owner here, was having trouble getting off the grill

00:22:28.620 to go into Red Deer and get supplies.

00:22:31.040 So the community is really rallying around him, not just by patronizing the business,

00:22:35.740 but for helping backstop the business with supplies.

00:22:39.180 Even the staff here, they know that Chris has been closed for quite some time,

00:22:43.780 so he's not necessarily able to pay them.

00:22:47.380 But they are volunteering their time just to keep the doors open,

00:22:51.500 just so that they will have a job to come back to

00:22:54.400 if AHS ever lets them legally open going forward.

00:22:59.240 Wow.

00:22:59.920 You know what, that's amazing.

00:23:01.080 And when you say there's a lineup for food, that's how it was with Adamson's.

00:23:05.040 It wasn't just people who loved the food.

00:23:06.660 I've eaten at Adamson's.

00:23:07.680 It is wonderful.

00:23:09.400 It's the solidarity with someone not only standing up to the infringements on our liberties,

00:23:16.160 but someone who's fighting for their own life and livelihood.

00:23:19.600 I don't know the Whistle Stop Cafe.

00:23:22.320 I've never been to Mirror before.

00:23:24.380 But I can imagine that they've poured years of their life and their heart into the place.

00:23:29.080 It's part of the community.

00:23:30.660 I mean, if you think about what makes a neighborhood,

00:23:33.120 you know, there might be a little park, there might be a school.

00:23:36.040 Often it's the restaurants that actually give a community, it's a neighborhood, it's character.

00:23:41.760 That's where you meet up.

00:23:43.220 That's where you have the moments of your life.

00:23:45.280 The backdrop of your life happens in this restaurant, in that bar.

00:23:50.240 You know, it's the milestones and the landmarks.

00:23:52.040 And God forbid the Whistle Stop Cafe were to shut down.

00:23:55.960 I hate to even say those words, but that's the fate of more than 10,000 restaurants in Canada.

00:24:00.560 That will cast a long shadow over the cohesiveness of the community.

00:24:09.560 I tell you, Sheila, if I was there, I would go there out of solidarity.

00:24:14.280 I would tip enormously.

00:24:17.040 I would just want to support them every way I can.

00:24:20.440 And if the police showed up to be bullies, I would do my best not to swear,

00:24:26.020 but I would ask challenging words to the police if this is really why they went to the police academy

00:24:31.120 or the depot, as it's called in the RCMP.

00:24:33.840 When you wanted to be a cop growing up,

00:24:36.140 did you ever imagine yourself cracking down on waiters, waitresses, and customers?

00:24:40.000 You thought you were going to be fighting murderers and robbers, didn't you?

00:24:43.160 That's the kind of stuff I would say if I could control my tongue and not swear.

00:24:47.680 Yesterday, I was here, not for work, but for personal reasons.

00:24:55.300 I wanted to do exactly what you were talking about, Ezra.

00:24:57.780 So I was here on Saturday for work.

00:25:00.280 I've got a great video coming out where you can see the whole community is here.

00:25:04.240 I talked to the staff.

00:25:05.260 I talked to Chris.

00:25:05.960 I talked to his customers.

00:25:07.460 That video is coming out.

00:25:09.140 But I was here yesterday with 14 other people.

00:25:14.060 We rounded up a bunch of people, including one of those freedom-minded restaurants,

00:25:19.680 our friends from Buffet Royale in the Edmonton area,

00:25:22.760 the restaurant that hosted our book signing

00:25:26.440 and then was subsequently protested by the Chinese consulate.

00:25:30.500 They came down here to stand in solidarity.

00:25:32.880 It's a little bit more difficult for a large buffet restaurant to open up on a moment's notice,

00:25:37.660 but they wanted to do what they could do to help Chris.

00:25:41.820 And you are right when you say that these small-town diners, 0.98

00:25:44.500 they really end up being sort of like the community center.

00:25:48.080 It's, you know, where everybody gets together to discuss, you know, business, funerals.

00:25:53.960 It's the social club in a small town.

00:25:56.560 And when these places disappear, they disappear forever.

00:26:00.960 And you're right about Chris being part of the social fabric here.

00:26:05.160 At the beginning of the pandemic, when everything was closed,

00:26:08.460 he bought a massive screen and he set up a drive-in theater in his parking lot

00:26:14.740 just to give the town something to do.

00:26:18.340 And at the time, AHS closed it down the first time around,

00:26:22.580 even though everybody was in their cars.

00:26:24.840 But he pushed back.

00:26:26.940 AHS sat down and made some rules for him to reopen.

00:26:30.960 And I think that's what he's trying to do here.

00:26:33.440 He's just going to go ahead, do something, ask for permission later,

00:26:36.880 and hopefully he forces AHS to come to the table and allow everybody to open back up.

00:26:42.760 Yeah, that's, you know what, I tell you, just today I reviewed

00:26:48.020 Dr. Teresa Tam's weekly epidemiological report on COVID-19.

00:26:54.980 One of the pages in that report shows the number of outbreaks since the pandemic began.

00:27:02.820 More than 10,000 outbreaks, sorry, 10,000 deaths from outbreaks in seniors' homes, for example.

00:27:09.580 I think that's fairly well known.

00:27:10.980 The grand total across all of Canada, in every restaurant and bar and retail,

00:27:19.040 the grand total, Sheila, three deaths, three across this entire country for the last year, three.

00:27:26.740 And the risk is so low, there is a greater risk driving to a restaurant that you'll get killed in a car accident, God forbid,

00:27:37.180 than there is a risk.

00:27:38.640 And I see people walking by that got mad.

00:27:40.660 You don't ask.

00:27:41.200 I don't care.

00:27:41.640 You know, so I find that, I got one last question for you, and by the way, I wish I was there.

00:27:49.100 And if the cops come, film everything, and if they give out tickets, please tell everyone there,

00:27:54.900 we will crowdfund the lawyers for them.

00:27:57.980 Don't pay it.

00:27:58.800 Don't pay.

00:27:59.380 Don't, don't, don't, don't pay.

00:28:01.320 If you don't get their names, tell them to go to fightthefines.com, Sheila. 1.00

00:28:04.540 I don't want anyone there to have additional stress in their life, especially those waiters and waitresses.

00:28:10.100 Anyhow, here's my question.

00:28:12.920 You mentioned our friends from Buffet Royale and Edmonton came on down.

00:28:16.940 Do you have any indication, even whispers, that there might be other restaurants or shopkeepers

00:28:23.800 who are inspired by the Whistle Stop Cafe, and they're saying, hey, I mean, like Nanton,

00:28:31.460 I love driving down, and I always stop in Nanton for breakfast.

00:28:34.700 I just love to do it.

00:28:37.120 Like a little diner like that.

00:28:38.840 Do you hear any whispers anywhere else in Alberta that people are going to say, well, if they're going to do it,

00:28:43.900 I'm going to do it too, not out of jealousy, but out of, hey, that's a great idea, you know what I mean?

00:28:48.880 Yes, I've heard of at least two.

00:28:50.920 There's one that's opening up on Wednesday.

00:28:52.720 I don't want to give away the location in case the police decide that they need to pay them a proactive visit,

00:28:58.980 but there is one that is opening up on Wednesday night and one that's opening up following that.

00:29:03.280 And I think the idea is you cannot ticket us all.

00:29:07.740 They might, but I don't know if they can drag all these people before the courts.

00:29:12.320 And optically, it's going to look terrible on the government.

00:29:15.220 These people are just trying to survive.

00:29:18.160 The government has driven them to the point where they absolutely have nothing left to lose.

00:29:24.120 In my interview with Chris yesterday, that's what he said.

00:29:26.680 He said, you can keep ticketing me.

00:29:28.320 You can ticket me.

00:29:29.120 You can take away my health permits.

00:29:30.560 You can take away my liquor license.

00:29:32.400 I'll just stop selling beer.

00:29:33.740 But I'm going to keep opening up until they change the locks.

00:29:39.380 And that's what he's going to do.

00:29:41.420 Well, here's the thing about if we provide a lawyer.

00:29:45.100 At the very, very least, it kicks the can down the road 6, 12, 18 months to take the stress off these restauranteurs.

00:29:53.920 And perhaps if we get out of this tyranny, which I hope we do, a judge in the sober morning light would say, what were we thinking?

00:30:05.860 And I think that people who are not used to dealing with the law, not used to being in an antagonistic situation, most people are not conflict-oriented.

00:30:16.380 I'm a little bit conflict-oriented.

00:30:18.500 So fighting, you know, and by fighting, I don't mean with my fist because I'd get pummeled.

00:30:24.640 I mean like with lawyers and words and stuff.

00:30:27.740 Let us take all the worry for you.

00:30:29.940 We will be like the liver to take all the toxins, to take all the bad stuff.

00:30:34.780 Let us take all the bad stuff because we're sort of pros at that.

00:30:39.280 We've got lawyers ready to help.

00:30:41.320 Let people live.

00:30:43.100 And give my best regards to everyone there.

00:30:45.900 And if you want to buy a round of pies for everyone in the restaurant on me, send me the bill.

00:30:53.060 I want to feel like a bit of a big shot.

00:30:54.460 I can buy 14 slices of pie.

00:30:56.320 That's about as big shot as I'm feeling today.

00:30:58.440 You know, I guess that's my way of saying I'm sending my support, Sheila.

00:31:01.860 But the real support comes when the cops come.

00:31:04.900 We will fight those tickets.

00:31:06.840 And those other two restaurants, I can hardly wait to find out who they are.

00:31:09.640 We will fight them and hopefully Alberta will open up from the grassroots up, if not from the top down.

00:31:16.340 I have extended an offer to Chris.

00:31:20.020 I told him he has our full support.

00:31:22.740 If the police do ticket him, we are going to be there to fight every single fine that he gets in court.

00:31:29.060 We're going to make these Alberta Health Services bureaucrats answer for what they are doing to him in front of a real judge and explain their actions.

00:31:39.900 And he graciously accepted.

00:31:41.540 So if people want to help us help Chris, they can do that at fightthefines.com.

00:31:46.240 Great.

00:31:46.560 Thanks, Sheila.

00:31:47.160 And say the same.

00:31:48.420 I know you have already, but to the waiters and waitresses and the cooks, because anyone there and any customers, any customers.

00:31:56.100 So there's the owner, there's the workers, and then there's the customers.

00:31:59.900 And we have to do this.

00:32:02.980 And hopefully this will have a domino effect.

00:32:06.180 Well, listen, I'll let you go.

00:32:08.420 I'd rather be where you are.

00:32:09.920 I know it's like minus 20, minus 25 there in Mirror, Alberta.

00:32:14.060 But it looks like the warmth of the community is the real story there.

00:32:18.220 Great to see you, my friend.

00:32:19.160 Thanks for doing this.

00:32:21.060 Thanks, Ezra.

00:32:22.100 All right.

00:32:22.440 There you have it.

00:32:22.940 Sheila Gunreed, our chief reporter at the Whistle Stop Cafe in the town of Mirror, Alberta.

00:32:30.160 I don't know if it's a town or a village, when you only have about 500 folks.

00:32:33.400 I'm not even sure if that counts as a town.

00:32:35.220 Obviously, everyone in that cafe knows each other, and they know and support the owner.

00:32:41.200 And we're getting to know them, and we're supporting them, too.

00:32:44.260 You can also, if you want, at fightthefinest.com.

00:32:47.420 You heard me, and you heard Sheila.

00:32:50.120 We've offered legal help to everyone in the place, and we'll give it with your help, because that's how we pay for it.

00:32:55.740 We crowd fund it.

00:32:57.040 All right, folks, stay with us for more.

00:32:58.360 Hey, welcome back.

00:33:10.940 On my show Friday, Wendy writes, I just brought The Libranos, The China Virus, and The Case Against David Suzuki by Sheila Gunn-Reed.

00:33:17.840 I hope that helps.

00:33:18.880 Well, thank you very much.

00:33:19.780 You know, it's ironic.

00:33:21.280 When you ban a book, all of a sudden people are saying, oh, what am I not allowed to see?

00:33:25.860 What don't you want me to see?

00:33:26.860 How dare you make that decision for me?

00:33:29.080 So I think banning books often backfires, especially in the age of the Internet.

00:33:32.920 So thanks for buying those books.

00:33:35.440 Paul writes, for your next book, have him on the cover in blackface.

00:33:39.580 They don't seem to mind that.

00:33:40.620 Yeah, isn't that the truth?

00:33:41.720 You know, we saw that story the other day out of Hamilton, where someone called Trudeau a Nazi, and police were investigating that.

00:33:51.060 But when Trudeau calls people Nazis, they don't investigate that, and is putting a picture of Trudeau in blackface.

00:33:56.860 Is that racist, or is he racist that he did it?

00:33:59.540 It's so hard to keep track.

00:34:01.620 Vince writes,

00:34:02.240 You know, Trudeau really dresses up in costumes all the time.

00:34:17.520 If you Google Trudeau costumes, you'll probably get a hundred different images.

00:34:22.260 You'll probably get 20 just from his trip to India.

00:34:24.860 He dresses up for Halloween.

00:34:26.900 Grownups don't usually do that.

00:34:28.660 He dresses up at any excuse.

00:34:30.900 I think it's really weird, and it probably speaks to some issues, some Peter Pan issues, or some lack of a center.

00:34:38.760 He doesn't maybe know who he is.

00:34:40.240 I don't know.

00:34:41.120 Something weird with that boy.

00:34:43.000 I don't think he's a good leader for Canada.

00:34:44.960 I don't think he has a moral center.

00:34:47.380 That's our show for the day.

00:34:49.160 Until tomorrow, on behalf of all of us, you remember, I'm a world-packed world to you at home.

00:34:52.700 Good night.

00:34:53.540 Keep fighting for freedom.

00:35:00.900 Good night.

Rebel News Podcast - January 26, 2021

Four Acts of Government Censorship in Four Days

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