Rebel News Podcast - Justice for Jeremia after charges dropped, Trudeau is hiring in-house columnists

00:00:00.000 Hello Rebels, you're listening to a free audio-only recording of my show, Rebel Roundup.

00:00:06.160 Welcome to Rebel Roundup, ladies and gentlemen, and the rest of you,

00:00:09.360 in which we look back at some of the very best commentaries of the week by your favourite Rebels.

00:00:14.440 I'm your host, David Menzies.

00:00:16.740 Remember that hard-working farm lad in rural Alberta who was grotesquely assaulted by sheriffs a while back?

00:00:24.280 Well, I am pleased to report that we now have justice for Jeremiah in that all the charges against him were rightfully dropped.

00:00:33.420 Kian Bextie has all the details.

00:00:36.700 And all you media party types that are craving greener pastures, have you heard?

00:00:43.160 Justin Trudeau wants to hire you.

00:00:45.260 Oh, I know you're already getting taxpayer money from the Liberals,

00:00:49.500 but now the government wants to take some journalists in-house.

00:00:53.320 You know, to even better control the narrative, Sheila Gunn-Reed shall explain all.

00:00:59.700 And finally, letters, we get your letters.

00:01:01.600 We get your letters every minute of every day.

00:01:04.140 And I'll share some of your responses regarding my most recent visit to Albion Orchards in Caledon, Ontario,

00:01:11.140 to report on that farmer who was being hassled by the Ontario Provincial Police for selling apples on his 50-acre farm.

00:01:21.340 Oh yeah, apparently this acreage is a Wuhan virus hotspot.

00:01:27.400 Well, victory, folks.

00:01:28.820 The publicity from our original story resulted in the OPP backing down.

00:01:34.360 And now droves of customers, new customers, are visiting Albion Orchards.

00:01:40.200 Farmer Scott Luna is actually busier than ever.

00:01:44.100 I think that's called the Barbara Streisand effect.

00:01:47.860 Those are your Rebels.

00:01:48.760 Now let's round them up.

00:01:55.100 You may recall the story of Jeremiah Lusink.

00:01:57.580 He's a young farm boy in rural Alberta who was pulled out of his tractor by his neck,

00:02:02.160 pushed onto the pavement, and given scars that he has to this day.

00:02:05.360 He was also punched in the face by Alberta sheriffs in an act of police brutality that is rarely seen in Alberta.

00:02:12.400 The problem is, regular social justice warriors, folks who are opposed to police brutality,

00:02:17.820 they weren't really interested in this case because Jeremiah was a white farm boy from rural Alberta.

00:02:22.240 He was a Catholic.

00:02:23.160 He doesn't fit the bill that Black Lives Matter really is interested in today. 0.98

00:02:27.260 But police brutality of any kind is a problem.

00:02:29.800 And this, what happened to Jeremiah, was particularly egregious.

00:02:33.700 The news today, well, the government of Alberta, their prosecutors, have dropped all charges against Jeremiah

00:02:39.620 and the charges that were ascribed to his brother.

00:02:42.980 I spoke with them today at their farm.

00:02:45.100 They took a few minutes out of their harvest to speak with me about what went on

00:02:49.100 and why they think the charges were dropped.

00:02:51.340 Well, I'm sure they saw the situation I was in and everything that happened to me.

00:02:57.660 And they, you know, all the support I'm getting, like from Rebel and everyone else.

00:03:02.500 And that's mostly one of the reasons why they probably thought about dropping it.

00:03:07.060 Because they don't need all this trouble, especially when the court date comes.

00:03:11.120 These are really great folks out here.

00:03:13.260 They're doing great work feeding the country.

00:03:15.700 And they're not at all the type of people that Alberta sheriffs or law enforcement should be prosecuting

00:03:21.140 and giving criminal charges to.

00:03:23.020 And it's really confusing why Minister Doug Schweitzer,

00:03:26.160 who was then the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General for Alberta,

00:03:29.640 didn't immediately throw out these charges.

00:03:31.700 It took Minister Casey Madhu, the individual who replaced Minister Doug Schweitzer

00:03:35.760 as Minister of Justice and Attorney General,

00:03:37.840 to have these charges completely thrown out.

00:03:41.160 Finally, justice for Jeremiah.

00:03:43.920 But some questions remain.

00:03:46.560 Like, why did it take so long to correct this law enforcement abomination in the first place?

00:03:52.380 And why in blue hell did those sheriffs decide to physically assault

00:03:57.740 this young, hard-working farm lad in the first place?

00:04:02.380 And joining me now to shed some light on this baffling case is Kian Bexty.

00:04:07.780 Welcome to Rebel Roundup, my friend.

00:04:10.160 Hey, Darren.

00:04:10.540 So, Kian, I think you nailed it in your intro, actually.

00:04:14.840 This sort of brutality should have been front-page material for the mainstream media,

00:04:19.620 but the narrative kind of isn't correct for 2020,

00:04:23.560 in that the victim of this egregious takedown was white, not black.

00:04:26.860 But I think the real issue here, vis-a-vis law enforcement,

00:04:30.780 is that these city slicker sheriffs don't seem to know the rules

00:04:35.600 when it comes to enforcing the law in rural Alberta.

00:04:40.160 Would that be correct?

00:04:41.100 Oh, yeah, no, they don't know anything about rural Alberta.

00:04:45.720 They are city slickers by definition.

00:04:48.420 Their jobs are to protect the premier, to protect VIPs,

00:04:53.440 even the opposition leader in some cases,

00:04:55.660 to protect the governor general,

00:04:58.940 to protect, you know, prisoners during transfer.

00:05:04.280 Whole lineup of really important jobs.

00:05:08.000 But what happens to be on that list as well is rural traffic enforcement,

00:05:13.080 which makes absolutely no sense,

00:05:15.380 because they're two totally different worlds of law

00:05:20.180 and two totally different types of people,

00:05:23.200 and the training clearly has not been done properly

00:05:26.840 to allow them to know basic things,

00:05:30.980 like, you know, tractors are not motor vehicles.

00:05:35.340 They are not subject to the same laws.

00:05:38.060 And that incompetence led to the violent arrest of Jeremiah,

00:05:42.240 and it's a serious issue that needs to be solved.

00:05:45.380 You know, and the other baffling thing about this, Kian, 1.00

00:05:48.720 I mean, you look at Jeremiah.

00:05:50.620 He is so soft-spoken.

00:05:52.380 He's so well-spoken.

00:05:54.140 He's really the definition of a gentleman, as far as I can see.

00:05:58.060 And yet, what was it in the heads of those sheriffs?

00:06:02.400 Yeah, granted, they don't know the laws.

00:06:04.000 It pertains to rural Alberta, certainly.

00:06:05.980 But what was it in the heads of those sheriffs

00:06:08.500 that they would gang up and brutally beat them the way they did?

00:06:12.680 Clearly, this was not a guy, as the saying goes,

00:06:15.480 wearing trouble on his shirt.

00:06:17.500 I just can't believe the footage we saw there, Kian. 1.00

00:06:21.520 No, it seems like it went from zero to 60 real quick,

00:06:26.360 way faster than a tractor could go zero to 60.

00:06:28.620 And they made a good point, actually, when I was there.

00:06:31.620 What was the freak out for?

00:06:33.520 What was he going to do?

00:06:35.040 Speed away high speed on a tractor?

00:06:37.080 No, no, he wasn't.

00:06:40.140 He was no risk at all.

00:06:42.720 He obviously wasn't being violent.

00:06:45.700 He had no weapons on him.

00:06:47.880 But the police reacted in the way that they did.

00:06:51.580 He had a string of safety precautions that he was taking, Jeremiah,

00:06:56.060 to make sure that the tractor was safe,

00:06:58.240 to make sure that the people around the tractor were safe,

00:07:01.000 all while he was being punched in the face by Alberta sheriffs.

00:07:05.440 There's certain things you need to do while you're on a tractor,

00:07:08.040 while you're driving a tractor,

00:07:08.960 to make sure that it's operating correctly,

00:07:11.740 that it's shutting down correctly,

00:07:13.360 and that it's parked properly.

00:07:14.920 That includes a parking brake.

00:07:16.100 That includes allowing it to cool down

00:07:18.280 after you've been driving it really hard for a long time,

00:07:23.260 when the engine's really hot.

00:07:25.220 All that stuff was going through his mind

00:07:27.000 as the police were punching him, yanking him out of the tractor.

00:07:31.660 So he's a really smart guy.

00:07:33.900 He only had good intentions.

00:07:36.220 But the police officers looked like they just had a bone to pick

00:07:42.380 with some rural Albertan kid.

00:07:43.660 It doesn't make any sense.

00:07:45.600 No, it doesn't make sense.

00:07:46.500 I mean, the only thing I can think of

00:07:48.660 is that if Jeremiah had been impaired, you know,

00:07:52.400 with alcohol or drugs key, and clearly that wasn't the case,

00:07:55.160 I mean, then the sheriffs could say, well, we had to, you know,

00:07:58.960 do what we did in the name of public safety.

00:08:00.920 He's driving this enormous harvester around.

00:08:03.540 But that wasn't the case either.

00:08:05.820 I'm glad the charges are dropped,

00:08:07.640 but I'm sure I speak for the majority of our viewers

00:08:11.380 when you look upon that egregious takedown, Kian,

00:08:14.620 and say, sorry, that's not enough.

00:08:16.640 Is there anything in the works, Kian, about a civil lawsuit,

00:08:20.680 especially given the damages that he incurred physically

00:08:25.160 and the farm machinery incurred?

00:08:28.740 Yeah, you know, I was telling them,

00:08:31.120 I know what I would do if I was in their position.

00:08:33.640 I would be suing the Alberta sheriffs for destruction of property,

00:08:37.820 unlawful arrest, a whole host of things.

00:08:40.960 But they said, you know, that's not what they were put on earth to do.

00:08:47.320 They were put on earth to sow fields and harvest them

00:08:50.540 and feed the world.

00:08:52.520 That's what they're doing.

00:08:53.320 That's their job and that's their passion.

00:08:55.240 Their passion isn't being in a courtroom.

00:08:56.680 That's the last place they want to be.

00:08:59.140 They've set up a GoFundMe to help them cover the costs

00:09:02.920 of the destroyed tractor because the transmission was destroyed.

00:09:06.220 The rental tractor that they needed lost wages,

00:09:10.280 not wages, but income from contracts

00:09:13.960 that they were trying to fill that evening.

00:09:18.000 And that GoFundMe is hopefully going to cover it all.

00:09:21.500 If it doesn't, I'm not sure what they'll do.

00:09:24.460 But they did say if it overcovers their costs,

00:09:27.460 because they're still just estimating them right now

00:09:29.620 while their tractor is still in the shop,

00:09:32.940 they say that they're going to donate the proceeds to charity.

00:09:35.700 So really, these people, they're not out looking for

00:09:39.000 any sort of justice than what they do.

00:09:43.700 You know, I mean, from what you just told me,

00:09:45.720 these people almost sound too good to be true, Kian,

00:09:49.080 because they have every right to go after damages.

00:09:53.560 You know, and I got to say, Kian, I had a story a week ago

00:09:57.940 about an apple farmer being harassed

00:10:00.620 by the Ontario Provincial Police.

00:10:02.200 Evidently, the idea of people congregating

00:10:05.200 in a 50-acre outdoor farm for you-pick-apple orchard sales.

00:10:11.580 That was an egregious, you know, breach of protocol

00:10:15.840 for the Wuhan virus.

00:10:17.640 Never mind that five clicks away,

00:10:19.660 there was a Walmart of a smaller footprint

00:10:23.180 indoors with far more people.

00:10:25.960 You know, I guess what I'm getting at,

00:10:27.560 farming, we depend on farmers, like you said.

00:10:31.200 Farming is such a tough business.

00:10:33.480 I mean, you're at the mercy of weather patterns,

00:10:36.020 you're at the mercy of world commodity prices

00:10:39.020 for your crops.

00:10:41.260 I mean, can't law enforcement give these guys a break

00:10:44.560 and let these guys just do what they want to do,

00:10:46.860 and that is farm?

00:10:48.120 That's a great point,

00:10:51.040 and it's a problem that rural Albertans have.

00:10:53.600 Whether they're farmers or ranchers,

00:10:55.560 or if they just work in rural Alberta,

00:10:57.900 there's this huge problem right now, David,

00:11:00.800 and maybe this problem exists in Ontario as well,

00:11:04.000 but rural crime is a huge issue.

00:11:07.120 The criminals are not the rural folks. 0.95

00:11:10.180 The criminals are folks from cities 1.00

00:11:12.100 who come to take advantage of people

00:11:14.260 who don't lock their doors at night,

00:11:15.720 leave their keys in the tractor,

00:11:18.160 in the combine, in their trucks.

00:11:20.620 The crime is city folks coming out to rural areas,

00:11:25.180 so the people that need to be policed

00:11:27.260 are not the good Catholic families like Jeremiah here. 0.92

00:11:31.620 It's the people coming out to rural Alberta

00:11:33.220 to cause trouble,

00:11:34.220 but the problem is law enforcement in rural Alberta

00:11:36.900 is so detached that they can't get to anywhere

00:11:40.080 where there's a scene of a crime within half an hour,

00:11:43.080 within an hour sometimes,

00:11:44.440 depending on where they are.

00:11:45.720 Really, the way to solve this problem

00:11:47.460 is to quit policing rural Alberta

00:11:49.980 and to give good people like Jeremiah

00:11:52.740 open carry permits,

00:11:55.840 Second Amendment rights,

00:11:57.600 and they could do the job themselves.

00:11:59.560 Unfortunately, that's not how it works in Canada.

00:12:01.440 That will never happen,

00:12:02.880 but really it would solve the problem 100%

00:12:05.740 if they could.

00:12:07.300 I'm afraid you're dreaming in Technicolor, friend,

00:12:10.140 even though I do agree with your proposal for this problem.

00:12:14.000 But, Kean, I want to thank you for an excellent piece.

00:12:16.580 I want to thank you for shedding light on this story.

00:12:18.480 Certainly, the likes of CBC, CTV, Global,

00:12:21.480 they're not interested, as you said in your piece.

00:12:24.100 It doesn't quite fit the 2020 narrative

00:12:26.360 of policing and victims.

00:12:30.340 So they took a pass on this egregious story,

00:12:33.240 but I think it was your coverage

00:12:34.640 that perhaps led to the authorities

00:12:36.800 dropping the charges in the first place.

00:12:39.100 It was such an enormous PR black eye for them.

00:12:42.180 So thank you again, my friend, on a job well done.

00:12:45.560 No problem, David. Thanks so much.

00:12:46.820 And that was Kean Bextie in Calgary.

00:12:50.200 Keep it here, folks.

00:12:51.300 More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.

00:12:58.640 Natural Resources Canada is looking to hire two journalists.

00:13:02.060 I think the Liberals are looking to set the record straight

00:13:04.720 on the foreign-funded attacks on Canada's oil and gas

00:13:09.020 by publishing just the straight facts of the oil patch.

00:13:12.840 Because, as you know, the facts speak for themselves

00:13:15.180 about job creation, wealth creation to the entire country,

00:13:18.920 high environmental standards, and Indigenous prosperity.

00:13:23.300 Just kidding.

00:13:24.440 You see, the Liberals are in power still,

00:13:26.760 so there will be no fact-filled defense

00:13:29.060 of oil and gas here in Canada.

00:13:31.300 On the flip side, the Ministry is looking for two,

00:13:34.880 obviously recently laid off mainstream media hacks

00:13:37.720 to talk up the wonders of low-flow toilets,

00:13:40.740 turning down the thermostat, and LED light bulbs.

00:13:43.940 Because we don't get lectured about that sort of stuff enough already.

00:13:49.400 Just look at this from the Government Tenders and Contract website,

00:13:53.080 buyandsell.gc.ca.

00:13:56.080 Natural Resources Canada is seeking proposals from bidders

00:13:59.300 for the services of two columnists.

00:14:02.920 The services of the columnists will be to supply stories

00:14:07.200 on the energy efficiency achievements of the industrial buildings,

00:14:12.160 utilities, and government sectors on an ongoing basis.

00:14:16.000 Energy and cost savings must be included in the stories

00:14:19.000 to show how the energy efficiency actions

00:14:22.000 take and help companies to be competitive

00:14:24.480 and achieve sustainability goals.

00:14:26.880 It's a six-month contract with the possibility

00:14:30.040 of a two-year extension if you write

00:14:32.520 really good pro-government fluff.

00:14:36.760 I think this is probably the literal definition of propaganda.

00:14:41.800 Dissemination of information, facts, arguments, rumors,

00:14:44.920 half-truths, or lies to influence public opinion.

00:14:48.780 That's what the government wants here,

00:14:51.120 and they aren't even pretending that it's not what they want.

00:14:53.980 They want uncritical, unbalanced stories

00:14:56.660 on the, quote, achievements of government sectors

00:14:59.580 to show how the energy efficiency actions taken

00:15:02.880 help companies achieve sustainability goals.

00:15:06.480 Now, I think we taxpayers have paid for these two columnists

00:15:09.680 hundreds of times over already.

00:15:12.420 It's called the Media Party,

00:15:13.620 and they already got a half a billion bucks

00:15:16.360 to write pro-government content

00:15:18.060 that no one reads in the form of a bailout.

00:15:21.200 And then there's the CBC.

00:15:22.640 They get over a billion dollars per year

00:15:25.320 for no one to tune in to watch Rosie Barton 1.00

00:15:28.500 go on romantic strolls

00:15:29.820 with her platonic boyfriend, Justin Trudeau,

00:15:31.920 to ask him the tough stuff,

00:15:33.720 the things you really want to know,

00:15:35.040 like, are you smart enough to run

00:15:36.980 and listen to a podcast at the same time?

00:15:38.940 And what do you want to be when you grow up?

00:15:41.880 Remember this?

00:15:42.660 If you could do any other job

00:15:44.780 and you have to answer, what would it be?

00:15:46.540 I'd be a schoolteacher.

00:15:47.520 I knew you were going to say that.

00:15:48.380 No, no.

00:15:48.640 No, no, like, aspirational.

00:15:49.580 But it's what I am.

00:15:51.000 Aspirational.

00:15:52.260 Something you haven't done.

00:15:53.960 What kind of music are you listening to right now?

00:15:56.900 If you have time.

00:15:57.680 Or podcasts.

00:15:58.820 Podcasts?

00:15:59.100 No, I don't.

00:15:59.940 I've tried.

00:16:00.660 I run regularly,

00:16:02.040 and I've tried to do the podcast thing,

00:16:05.180 but it doesn't really say.

00:16:06.960 I don't like people talking in my ears

00:16:08.540 when I'm trying to run.

00:16:09.420 I like to sort of vibe out.

00:16:11.540 I suppose this is probably the most honest thing

00:16:14.520 the Liberals have done

00:16:15.740 with their meddling in the media.

00:16:17.940 And I guess we should probably applaud them

00:16:20.180 for finally cutting out the middleman.

00:16:22.940 Wow.

00:16:23.380 There you have it, folks.

00:16:24.740 Instead of the Trudeau Liberals

00:16:26.140 simply paying off the mainstream media

00:16:28.700 via the various newspaper and magazine bailouts

00:16:32.060 and, of course, the endless billions of dollars

00:16:35.140 known as CBC Welfare,

00:16:37.380 or I mean funding,

00:16:38.660 why not simply hire some journalists in-house

00:16:41.620 to absolutely 100% ensure

00:16:44.780 that the narrative is completely controlled?

00:16:48.760 You can call it cutting out the middleman

00:16:51.160 or, if you want to get fancy,

00:16:53.220 vertical integration.

00:16:54.940 But the fact remains,

00:16:56.040 if there are ink-stained wretches out there

00:17:00.100 that have no qualms

00:17:01.800 when it comes to selling their souls,

00:17:03.600 well then, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,

00:17:06.940 he has a job for you.

00:17:09.600 Joining me now with more on this story

00:17:11.440 is Sheila Gunn-Reed.

00:17:13.180 Welcome to Rebel Roundup, my friend.

00:17:15.500 Hey, David.

00:17:16.040 Thanks for having me on the show.

00:17:17.240 Always a pleasure.

00:17:18.260 So, Sheila, just for laughs,

00:17:20.220 why don't you send in your resume,

00:17:23.280 although I fear you're perhaps overqualified

00:17:26.340 to turn out this sort of government-sponsored pablum?

00:17:30.140 Well, and that's the thing.

00:17:33.240 Where's the need for this?

00:17:35.260 Like, I could understand if there was a need for,

00:17:38.620 as I pointed out in my video,

00:17:40.560 debunking the myths that go around

00:17:42.900 about the oil and gas sector,

00:17:44.840 or not even just debunking the myths,

00:17:46.980 just telling the truth,

00:17:48.340 talking about reducing emissions,

00:17:49.980 the salaries, Indigenous employment,

00:17:53.540 Indigenous opportunity,

00:17:55.140 all those things that are great

00:17:56.700 about our oil and gas sector,

00:17:59.180 because, you know,

00:18:00.280 Natural Resources Canada,

00:18:01.840 that's kind of their job.

00:18:03.300 They act as the stewards of natural resources.

00:18:07.320 If they said that,

00:18:09.180 I would be open to the idea.

00:18:10.740 I'm not really open to government spending

00:18:12.320 in general,

00:18:13.560 but it would at least be mirroring

00:18:15.440 what's happening here in Alberta

00:18:17.220 with the energy war room.

00:18:18.600 They do have some former journalists

00:18:21.260 that are just writing articles,

00:18:24.640 straight facts about the industry,

00:18:26.900 because it's the government's job,

00:18:29.200 at least here in Alberta,

00:18:30.100 to, you know,

00:18:31.840 market oil and gas

00:18:34.100 on behalf of the citizens who own it.

00:18:36.540 But that's not what's happening here

00:18:38.320 with the federal government.

00:18:40.700 They want,

00:18:43.000 obviously,

00:18:44.020 formerly,

00:18:44.700 like recently laid off journalists,

00:18:46.400 and, boy,

00:18:47.220 you know,

00:18:47.520 there's a bunch of those,

00:18:49.000 to write articles about

00:18:51.400 the wonders of energy efficiency,

00:18:54.860 like there aren't enough

00:18:56.000 of those out there already.

00:18:57.380 They won't shut up

00:18:58.700 about light bulbs.

00:18:59.760 They won't shut up

00:19:00.700 about low-flow toilets

00:19:01.980 and the shower heads

00:19:03.020 that don't get the soap 1.00

00:19:03.920 out of your hair.

00:19:05.300 They don't shut up about those.

00:19:06.700 There's plenty of those articles

00:19:08.100 out there.

00:19:08.840 Why not just license

00:19:10.020 a couple of those

00:19:11.000 from the mainstream media,

00:19:12.940 since we already paid

00:19:14.040 for the mainstream media,

00:19:15.160 license a couple of those articles

00:19:16.780 and republish them,

00:19:18.360 if that's what you want to do.

00:19:19.840 But instead,

00:19:20.580 they're actually hiring

00:19:21.820 two journalists full-time

00:19:23.160 to do this.

00:19:24.020 And, you know, Sheila,

00:19:24.860 what gets me is that,

00:19:26.360 you know,

00:19:26.620 when you go to Ottawa,

00:19:27.820 there are towers

00:19:29.460 packed full of bureaucrats

00:19:32.200 for all the various ministries.

00:19:34.920 And I'm assuming

00:19:36.240 there are hundreds,

00:19:37.180 if not thousands,

00:19:37.800 of people,

00:19:39.040 you know,

00:19:39.360 bureaucrats

00:19:39.940 that are working there.

00:19:42.020 And the thing is,

00:19:42.960 why can't they do it?

00:19:45.520 They're supposedly qualified.

00:19:47.400 They can put a sentence together.

00:19:48.880 It's just like in Toronto,

00:19:50.100 since Mayor Tory became mayor,

00:19:52.600 the amount of money

00:19:54.900 spent on consultants,

00:19:56.900 it has risen exponentially.

00:20:00.260 And the thing is, Sheila,

00:20:01.720 the bureaucrats

00:20:02.660 that are in these towers

00:20:03.740 at City Hall,

00:20:05.460 well,

00:20:06.120 aren't they the consultants?

00:20:08.080 Aren't they knowledgeable,

00:20:09.740 whether it comes to sanitation

00:20:11.500 or housing,

00:20:12.460 what have you?

00:20:13.240 Why hire all this extra help?

00:20:15.820 It just drives me crazy

00:20:17.680 when I see this kind of gravy train

00:20:20.180 to enrich others

00:20:22.560 when you already have

00:20:24.300 an entire battalion,

00:20:26.920 full-time workers

00:20:27.980 that can do this anyways.

00:20:30.140 Not just full-time workers

00:20:31.760 that can do this,

00:20:33.520 but whose job it is to do this.

00:20:35.640 They're called communications people,

00:20:37.820 and every ministry has them.

00:20:39.720 So beyond the communications people,

00:20:43.160 the people who deal directly

00:20:44.360 with the media as well,

00:20:46.060 their media liaisons,

00:20:48.180 they're hiring two journalists.

00:20:49.640 And frankly,

00:20:51.020 I know I'm slightly annoyed

00:20:53.540 by all of this,

00:20:54.440 but I at least appreciate

00:20:56.060 the honesty,

00:20:57.480 because it appears

00:20:58.240 the federal government

00:20:59.880 has finally cut out

00:21:01.260 the middleman.

00:21:02.300 They've been dumping money

00:21:03.740 into the media sector

00:21:05.740 for the last year and a half,

00:21:08.000 since forever,

00:21:09.440 if we're counting the CBC.

00:21:12.480 And a lot of that money

00:21:14.000 ends up in the hands

00:21:15.340 of upper management

00:21:16.360 who pay themselves bonuses

00:21:17.800 for continuing to have

00:21:19.480 their businesses fail.

00:21:21.220 Whatever.

00:21:22.420 But at least this time,

00:21:23.940 they're cutting out the middleman

00:21:25.020 and just hiring

00:21:25.620 the journalists directly.

00:21:26.760 So I suppose we should be glad

00:21:28.780 for the efficiency of it all.

00:21:31.400 You know, Sheila,

00:21:31.960 I got to tell you,

00:21:32.920 back in the day,

00:21:33.940 once upon a time,

00:21:34.940 this would have been seen

00:21:37.120 as heresy.

00:21:38.920 There used to be

00:21:39.700 a real separation

00:21:41.340 of church and state

00:21:42.460 when it came to journalism,

00:21:44.120 i.e. you didn't get

00:21:45.760 handouts from anyone

00:21:47.520 to alter the narrative.

00:21:50.260 Journalists wouldn't even

00:21:51.340 be talking to

00:21:52.860 the ad sales reps

00:21:55.080 because you didn't want

00:21:56.420 any kind of cross-contamination

00:21:58.280 that you were,

00:21:59.580 you know,

00:22:00.580 unnecessarily being biased

00:22:02.440 in the name of an advertiser.

00:22:04.640 But now,

00:22:05.540 it seems that

00:22:06.400 so many of these journalists,

00:22:07.700 they've just sold their soul.

00:22:09.120 They've got their hands out

00:22:10.340 like Oliver Twist

00:22:11.500 in Oliver,

00:22:12.840 saying,

00:22:13.220 please, sir,

00:22:13.720 I want more.

00:22:14.800 And we have this problem

00:22:16.680 where, Sheila,

00:22:17.840 in terms of the media,

00:22:19.380 it's not censorship,

00:22:21.160 it's self-censorship.

00:22:23.140 They don't want to rattle

00:22:24.320 their sugar daddies

00:22:25.420 in Ottawa.

00:22:26.820 Well, every story

00:22:28.080 acts as a cover letter

00:22:29.420 for a job application

00:22:30.720 going forward,

00:22:31.680 whether it's

00:22:32.420 in communications

00:22:33.500 for the government

00:22:34.480 or maybe it's

00:22:37.260 a grant application

00:22:38.480 for some of that

00:22:39.340 $650 million

00:22:41.580 in Trudeau bailout bucks.

00:22:43.780 It seems as though

00:22:44.780 the media has gone

00:22:46.220 from espousing

00:22:48.760 the concept

00:22:49.300 of the free press

00:22:50.300 to thinking

00:22:50.860 the free press

00:22:51.720 means give me free money.

00:22:53.820 And, you know,

00:22:55.180 it really shows

00:22:56.720 in the quality

00:22:57.620 of their work.

00:22:58.520 And yet, still,

00:22:59.380 the media continues

00:23:00.800 to fail

00:23:01.640 year after year.

00:23:03.600 Layoffs

00:23:04.160 and budget cuts.

00:23:05.560 Layoffs

00:23:06.160 and budget cuts.

00:23:07.500 But they keep doing

00:23:08.180 more of the same.

00:23:09.640 They keep producing

00:23:10.520 a product

00:23:11.160 that nobody

00:23:12.060 wants to watch,

00:23:13.200 that nobody

00:23:13.680 wants to pay for,

00:23:14.880 that nobody

00:23:15.380 wants to read.

00:23:16.800 They go through

00:23:17.460 a cycle of layoffs,

00:23:18.760 but they never change

00:23:20.180 what they're doing.

00:23:21.680 And they won't now

00:23:23.020 because Justin Trudeau

00:23:24.520 has intervened

00:23:25.380 to prevent

00:23:25.800 that market correction.

00:23:26.820 It's amazing.

00:23:28.160 And one last point

00:23:28.920 too, Sheila,

00:23:29.520 as you referred

00:23:30.080 to these other

00:23:31.120 positions that are

00:23:32.160 being created

00:23:32.780 that journalists

00:23:33.460 are going to fill,

00:23:34.620 you called them

00:23:35.400 communications people,

00:23:36.600 which is what

00:23:37.140 they'll be,

00:23:37.620 of course.

00:23:38.240 But isn't it

00:23:39.240 perversely ironic?

00:23:40.520 There's all these

00:23:41.220 communications people,

00:23:43.160 all these media

00:23:43.860 relations people,

00:23:45.500 all these spokesmen

00:23:46.600 and spokeswomen,

00:23:47.520 and yet,

00:23:48.280 when you,

00:23:48.900 I,

00:23:49.240 Kian,

00:23:49.440 when we reach out

00:23:50.480 for information,

00:23:51.540 we're told to take

00:23:53.320 a long walk

00:23:54.040 off a short pier,

00:23:55.620 file a freedom

00:23:56.620 of information request.

00:23:58.380 Sometimes those

00:23:59.200 freedom of information

00:24:00.040 requests are denied,

00:24:01.480 so we have to appeal

00:24:03.260 that freedom

00:24:03.740 of information request.

00:24:05.280 This all,

00:24:06.140 this costs us

00:24:06.920 a lot of money,

00:24:08.120 and what gets me,

00:24:09.780 Sheila,

00:24:10.080 is that these

00:24:10.700 communications people

00:24:11.860 who are being paid

00:24:12.820 to communicate

00:24:13.520 are doing anything

00:24:15.020 but that.

00:24:16.900 Well,

00:24:17.540 yeah,

00:24:17.960 I mean,

00:24:18.300 I would,

00:24:18.680 I would love it

00:24:19.560 if they would

00:24:20.420 even return an email

00:24:22.260 and tell me

00:24:22.880 to take a long walk

00:24:24.280 off a short pier,

00:24:25.060 but I never even

00:24:25.740 get that far.

00:24:27.280 You know,

00:24:27.800 much of the work

00:24:29.360 that I do,

00:24:30.220 including this story

00:24:31.220 that I'm currently

00:24:32.020 working on,

00:24:32.740 is in access

00:24:33.400 to information,

00:24:34.240 and it doesn't

00:24:35.620 really have to be.

00:24:37.560 I am forced

00:24:39.000 to file so many

00:24:40.160 access to information

00:24:41.060 requests,

00:24:41.800 and they are

00:24:42.300 very expensive,

00:24:43.200 they're very

00:24:43.780 time-consuming,

00:24:44.800 because they

00:24:46.920 won't hand over

00:24:47.860 the information

00:24:48.640 through their

00:24:49.220 media relations people.

00:24:50.520 They just won't.

00:24:51.660 They'll leak

00:24:52.440 friendly things

00:24:53.920 to friendly media,

00:24:55.320 which is basically

00:24:56.080 everyone but us

00:24:57.160 except for a handful

00:24:58.200 of media outlets,

00:25:01.180 including True North,

00:25:02.840 but we're forced

00:25:04.540 to file access

00:25:05.180 to information

00:25:05.820 through necessity

00:25:07.080 because the government

00:25:08.620 is so tight

00:25:09.920 with their information

00:25:11.220 and all information

00:25:13.320 when I ask for it,

00:25:14.240 even if I'm just

00:25:14.940 asking for a clarification,

00:25:16.280 they will not give it.

00:25:18.440 And one of the best

00:25:19.560 ways to support us

00:25:20.820 in our access

00:25:22.460 to information requests,

00:25:23.820 because like I said,

00:25:24.540 they're very expensive,

00:25:25.640 very time-consuming,

00:25:26.880 it's hours and weeks,

00:25:28.480 sometimes months

00:25:29.300 and years of work

00:25:30.940 on a story

00:25:31.400 before you even see

00:25:32.480 the five-minute

00:25:33.160 or ten-minute story,

00:25:34.540 they can do that

00:25:35.180 at rebelinvestigates.com.

00:25:37.740 Thank you so much,

00:25:40.420 Sheila,

00:25:40.800 and when it comes

00:25:42.040 to analyzing

00:25:43.020 the information

00:25:45.060 that you get

00:25:45.940 when we get it

00:25:46.740 from these freedom

00:25:47.560 of information requests,

00:25:49.220 to quote Carly Simon,

00:25:51.120 nobody does it better

00:25:52.680 than you,

00:25:53.500 Sheila Guthrie.

00:25:54.700 So you keep at them

00:25:56.300 because if you aren't

00:25:57.240 doing this

00:25:57.720 and if we aren't

00:25:58.380 doing this,

00:25:59.000 I don't think

00:25:59.780 hardly anybody

00:26:00.880 is going to be doing it.

00:26:02.260 So I think in that sense,

00:26:06.260 Rebel News is

00:26:07.000 an essential service

00:26:08.480 if you care

00:26:09.520 about the truth.

00:26:10.400 Thank you so much

00:26:11.140 for that piece, Sheila.

00:26:12.660 Thanks, David.

00:26:13.420 Have a great weekend.

00:26:14.240 You too.

00:26:14.900 And that was

00:26:15.620 Sheila Gunn-Reed

00:26:16.560 somewhere in the

00:26:17.700 northern hinterland

00:26:18.820 of Alberta.

00:26:20.120 Keep it here, folks.

00:26:20.980 More of Rebel Roundup

00:26:21.780 to come right after this.

00:26:28.360 We're at Albion Orchards.

00:26:30.500 I'm with Scott Luna

00:26:31.720 and as you may recall,

00:26:33.340 last weekend,

00:26:34.860 the OPP,

00:26:36.240 whether it was

00:26:36.640 on their own volition

00:26:37.720 or a wild Karen

00:26:39.600 blew the whistle,

00:26:41.640 they paid a visit

00:26:43.280 to Scott here

00:26:44.600 and when they got here,

00:26:46.220 Scott,

00:26:46.600 they kind of read

00:26:47.580 you the riot act.

00:26:48.580 Even though you've got

00:26:49.420 50 acres

00:26:50.860 of the great outdoors here,

00:26:53.080 they were worried

00:26:53.940 that somehow

00:26:54.640 you might be

00:26:55.460 violating the social

00:26:56.840 gathering limit

00:26:57.660 of 25.

00:26:59.180 Regardless,

00:26:59.880 there's more than that

00:27:00.720 going into a Walmart

00:27:01.660 and a Costco.

00:27:02.440 I thought businesses

00:27:03.040 were exempt.

00:27:03.660 And then, of course,

00:27:04.820 your tractor

00:27:05.800 was not being sanitized.

00:27:08.020 It just made for

00:27:09.260 more COVID madness

00:27:11.060 in 2020.

00:27:12.980 What has been the result

00:27:15.300 of you trying to find out

00:27:18.400 whether or not

00:27:18.920 you're breaking the law?

00:27:19.740 Because we visited

00:27:20.560 the OPP detachment

00:27:22.100 in Calden

00:27:22.700 and they basically told us

00:27:24.660 they didn't know

00:27:25.540 go to the public health unit.

00:27:26.960 I think you said

00:27:27.660 off camera

00:27:28.160 you spent something

00:27:29.200 like three or four hours

00:27:30.500 phoning the various authorities

00:27:31.840 and you never got

00:27:32.740 a clear answer.

00:27:34.200 Not a clear answer.

00:27:35.980 Anyways,

00:27:36.520 goodness gracious,

00:27:37.860 David,

00:27:38.260 things have kind of

00:27:39.780 cooled a bit.

00:27:40.620 The police have not been back.

00:27:42.140 So I think,

00:27:43.020 you know,

00:27:44.020 they're doing a great job.

00:27:45.540 It's got to be stressful

00:27:46.440 for them.

00:27:47.300 And, you know,

00:27:48.800 with rules changing,

00:27:49.880 they were uncertain

00:27:50.840 as well.

00:27:52.320 So we haven't been fined.

00:27:54.760 We're still open

00:27:55.460 for business.

00:27:56.240 People are still coming

00:27:57.220 and it's all good.

00:27:59.100 Scott,

00:27:59.440 personally,

00:27:59.920 I think,

00:28:00.480 given our report

00:28:01.680 on the matter,

00:28:03.960 it got a lot of views.

00:28:06.120 I've read the comments.

00:28:07.680 It is,

00:28:08.460 people are baffled.

00:28:10.200 They're gobsmacked

00:28:11.080 that they even paid

00:28:11.960 you a visit.

00:28:12.780 I really think

00:28:13.740 those OPP officers

00:28:15.240 that came here

00:28:15.900 are suffering

00:28:16.400 buyer's remorse,

00:28:17.700 especially when we just

00:28:19.160 had a 24-hour period

00:28:20.380 in the greater Toronto area

00:28:21.520 where we had

00:28:22.080 eight separate shootings.

00:28:23.940 I mean,

00:28:24.340 my goodness,

00:28:25.440 I would think

00:28:26.360 there's more important things

00:28:28.700 for the police

00:28:29.640 to be concerned with

00:28:30.760 than going after

00:28:31.720 an apple farmer.

00:28:33.180 Certainly, David.

00:28:34.020 As a taxpayer myself,

00:28:35.440 I would rather

00:28:36.060 that the police

00:28:36.720 spend their time

00:28:37.680 hunting down criminals

00:28:39.180 and preventing crime.

00:28:41.400 But again,

00:28:42.340 thankfully,

00:28:43.120 they have not returned.

00:28:44.460 I've not received a fine.

00:28:46.140 I'm very grateful for that.

00:28:47.760 I know they're doing

00:28:48.420 a busy job

00:28:49.280 and I don't think

00:28:51.200 they're going to be back.

00:28:52.380 What's happened is

00:28:53.260 I've gotten answers

00:28:54.320 from other people

00:28:55.200 in my industry.

00:28:56.740 So other farm marketers

00:28:58.260 in other jurisdictions,

00:29:00.720 municipalities,

00:29:02.000 they've reached out to me

00:29:03.580 by phone,

00:29:04.840 by email,

00:29:06.000 and let me know,

00:29:06.960 here's what's happening

00:29:07.740 in our area.

00:29:09.920 This is,

00:29:11.340 you know,

00:29:11.680 our councillors told this.

00:29:14.040 Our MP has told us that.

00:29:16.560 The police have told us this.

00:29:18.400 There have been

00:29:20.300 other fines passed out,

00:29:22.300 but they've actually...

00:29:23.340 To farmers?

00:29:24.180 Yeah.

00:29:25.380 There's Lucas,

00:29:27.800 I'm sorry,

00:29:28.520 I forget the name

00:29:29.180 of the farm

00:29:29.660 off the top of my head,

00:29:30.820 but him and his father

00:29:32.600 were each given

00:29:33.240 an $880 fine

00:29:35.120 under the COVID rules,

00:29:37.020 but that has since

00:29:38.540 been rescinded.

00:29:39.920 Who knew it was so tough

00:29:41.040 being a farmer

00:29:41.760 in Canada these days?

00:29:43.300 And no,

00:29:43.840 I'm not talking about

00:29:45.140 extreme weather patterns,

00:29:46.460 folks,

00:29:46.860 but rather overzealous

00:29:48.620 law enforcement

00:29:49.540 that doesn't quite

00:29:51.360 fully comprehend

00:29:52.440 the laws

00:29:53.420 that they themselves

00:29:54.740 are trying to enforce.

00:29:56.440 Amazing.

00:29:57.600 In any event,

00:29:58.360 here's what you had to say

00:29:59.700 about the saga

00:30:00.500 of Caledon, Ontario

00:30:01.700 farmer Scott Luna,

00:30:03.520 a hard-working man

00:30:05.300 who just wants

00:30:06.600 to sell his apples.

00:30:08.460 Ms. Clementine writes,

00:30:10.120 Five customers at a time?

00:30:12.600 Is he serious?

00:30:13.860 I've stood in line

00:30:14.760 with over 30 people

00:30:16.300 at Walmart.

00:30:17.500 What?

00:30:18.720 Indeed,

00:30:19.440 but then again,

00:30:20.520 one thing we have learned

00:30:21.800 about this pandemic

00:30:22.860 is that when it comes

00:30:24.180 to the retail sector,

00:30:26.040 there are different rules

00:30:27.280 for the big guys

00:30:28.260 and for the little guys.

00:30:30.120 I guess the Wuhan virus

00:30:32.180 is somehow biased.

00:30:33.800 For whatever reason,

00:30:35.040 this virus doesn't like

00:30:36.520 small entrepreneurs

00:30:37.680 trying to make a living,

00:30:38.680 but it has the utmost respect

00:30:41.000 for, say,

00:30:41.680 a multi-billion dollar corporation

00:30:43.700 based in Arkansas.

00:30:45.720 Amazing, eh?

00:30:47.400 Joe Pace writes,

00:30:49.160 This is amazing news.

00:30:51.440 Thank you once again, Rebel,

00:30:53.140 for reporting this story.

00:30:54.680 Well, thank you

00:30:55.340 for your kind words, Joe.

00:30:56.800 And I do believe

00:30:58.180 shedding a spotlight

00:30:59.320 on this story

00:31:00.280 led to a happy ending

00:31:01.980 for Albion Orchards.

00:31:03.980 Ain't it great

00:31:04.800 how publicizing an injustice

00:31:07.560 can sometimes act

00:31:09.440 as sanitizer?

00:31:11.660 Sharpshooter writes,

00:31:13.220 Well, how do you like

00:31:14.400 them apples? 0.83

00:31:15.440 Oh, I like them very much,

00:31:17.420 Sharpshooter.

00:31:18.100 And I'll tell you this,

00:31:19.440 the day it becomes illegal

00:31:21.040 to go to a you-pick

00:31:22.680 apple orchard

00:31:23.640 is the day

00:31:24.880 I'll become an outlaw.

00:31:27.320 Karma S. writes,

00:31:28.440 In Laval, Quebec,

00:31:29.780 there's an apple orchard

00:31:31.000 that ordered no eating

00:31:32.440 of apples in the orchards

00:31:34.000 due to COVID-19.

00:31:36.200 25% of orchards

00:31:37.980 were closed.

00:31:39.120 You know,

00:31:39.280 I'm really sorry

00:31:39.820 to hear that,

00:31:40.520 Karma S.,

00:31:41.080 but can someone

00:31:42.360 kindly explain

00:31:43.480 how picking apples

00:31:44.680 in the great outdoors

00:31:45.800 is a Wuhan virus

00:31:47.200 health hazard,

00:31:48.000 but it's okay

00:31:49.220 to cram inside

00:31:50.220 a big box store

00:31:51.240 to shop?

00:31:52.320 What utter madness.

00:31:54.520 And Brian Woods writes,

00:31:56.340 His shirt is awesome.

00:31:58.060 I love apple pie.

00:31:59.800 LOL.

00:32:00.600 That is indeed

00:32:01.900 a great shirt,

00:32:02.560 isn't it?

00:32:02.960 But then again,

00:32:03.960 maybe that is the source

00:32:05.160 of Scott's problems.

00:32:06.220 After all,

00:32:06.660 we all know that

00:32:07.460 Premier Doug Ford

00:32:08.740 wants everyone

00:32:09.480 to stay inside

00:32:10.500 baking cherry cheesecakes.

00:32:12.780 Maybe Premier Ford

00:32:14.040 looks upon apple pies

00:32:15.460 as competition

00:32:16.320 to his favourite foodstuff.

00:32:18.920 Sorry, Doug,

00:32:19.760 but I'll take

00:32:20.820 a freshly baked pie

00:32:22.660 stuffed with

00:32:23.380 Ontario-grown apples

00:32:24.840 over cheesecake

00:32:26.280 any day.

00:32:28.020 Well,

00:32:28.480 that wraps up

00:32:29.100 another edition

00:32:29.720 of Rebel Roundup.

00:32:30.640 Thanks so much

00:32:31.180 for joining us.

00:32:31.900 See you next week.

00:32:32.680 And hey, folks,

00:32:33.540 never forget,

00:32:34.980 without risk,

00:32:35.800 there can be no glory.

00:32:37.160 Good night.

Rebel News Podcast - October 03, 2020

Justice for Jeremia after charges dropped, Trudeau is hiring in-house columnists

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript